To catch up with lost time
by tvsa1357
Summary: Katherine is now human and dying. But after unexpected visit she realizes there might be chance to save her. She embarks on a journey where she learns something that can change not only her life but also people she knows. Continues after first episodes of season five but diverges from canon. Some things will be changed to fill my vision of the fanfic. Kalijah, Klaroline, Rebekah.
1. Chapter 1

Authors note:

I've been having the idea for this fic forming in my head for a while now. This is a first fic I've written and published so please be gentle with me. Also English is not my native language so I apologize for any mistakes I make during this fic.

This fic is rated M just in case. I still don't have a clear picture of what I want it to look like so that might change along the way.

Disclaimer:

I own nothing (accept few original characters I created for the purpose of this story).

Few things you need to know:

1. Stefan is still in the safe on the bottom of the lake.

2. Silas now looks like Stefan but is not his Doppelganger.

3. Qetsiyah did not kill herself but was killed by Silas after Katherine was force fed the cure. Silas killed her because he learned that Qetsiyah was lying to him all this time and destroying other side would actually made finding Amara in the afterlife almost impossible not the other way around.

4. Silas didn't drink the cure from Katherine, her dying is the natural consequence of taking the cure.

5. Bonnie is dead and will stay dead.

6. Tyler already broke up with Caroline.

7. Nadia is not a traveler and she didn't meet Matt and Rebekah while they were in Europe.

* * *

** Chapter 1.**

**Faith**

Katherine Pierce always did everything she could to survive but this time even though she tried she failed miserably. Recently she was force fed the cure by her second least favorite person in the whole world - her doppelganger, Elena - and now she was dying. How ironic. She has spent more than 500 years escaping every danger she could but she became human and was dying of old age. Rapidly. She had maybe few months left to live and she didn't want to die. She tried to become a vampire again but that didn't work and now that the witch Qetsiyah was killed by Silas before she could turn her immortal, Katherine was doomed.

Now she was living in the dorms of some crappy college with Caroline pretending to be Elena because her doppelganger went on a mission to save Stefan. She offered to help them but they said she was useless as a human and ordered her to stay here being guarded by Blonde vampire. At first she was furious because they hated each other but now they've grown to tolerate. One wouldn't go as far as calling them friends but they were enemies no longer.

Katherine was once again staying alone in their room, while Caroline was out with some guy she met, when someone knocked on the door. At first she was intent on ignoring the intruder and pretended that no one's inside. But then she heard voice calling her name.

"I know you're in there Katherine. I can hear you breathing. Open the door." the voice said. Katherine, still hesitant, sat up on the bed waiting.

"Katherine open the door or I can easily break in!"

The girl stood up heading slowly to the door and opened them just to see her daughter Nadia standing on the other side.

"Why are you here? I told you I don't want to see you or talk to you anymore. We are too old for mother-daughter bonding. Why don't you go back to wherever you came from." Katherine began to shut the door when Nadia forced her way into the room. She slowly went across the room and sat on Caroline's bed smiling.

"You don't have to be such a bitch Katherine. Besides you will be happy when you hear what I have to say to you..."

"I don't want to hear anything you want to say" Katherine interrupted. She was still standing beside the door looking angrily at Nadia, waiting for her to leave. She didn't want to know her. She didn't want to get attached to her now that she was going to die.

"Trust me you will be content when you hear the news I've learned." Nadia's smile became even bigger.

"So say it and go..."

"Well... I've heard that you tried everything to become vampire again and nothing you did worked." Nadia was very careful with the words she used. She didn't want Katherine to know that she knows the truth. At least not right away.

"So what?" Katherine yelled "Maybe I've decided that it will be better to live my life as a human."

"You don't even believe the words that come out of your mouth. You human? Come on Katherine you are the last person to ever want to be human again. You hate being weak, vulnerable, not being able to get the things you want. And what about when Klaus hears that you are human again and decides to use you as a blood bank for his hybrids. He might be too busy now whit his "Kingdome" and his child but he will surely come for you one day.

_He won't. I'll be dead by then. God! why can't everybody leave me alone so I can die at peace._ The thought came across Katherine's mind. She hated being human and she didn't have to be reminded of that. Slowly Katherine walk up to her bed and sat on it gently. She looked at Nadia she was still mad but the anger drained from her face.

"Fine" Katherine took a deep breath "what is this news you have for me?"

A big smile appeared on Nadia's face once again.

"First I must say that I hated you for sending me away and saying all those things to me. And I was ready to leave and forget all about you, the that bitch you were. But then your friend Caroline found me."

"She did what?" Katherine could not believe it. She was staring to tolerate that blond little vampire and she goes and does stuff like this. Who gave her the right to meddle in her life.

"She told me everything. How you can't tolerate vampire blood and you threw it up when you both tired to change you into vampire again. She also told me that you we're screwed over by that Qetsiyah which who was suppose to make you immortal." She paused. Katherine was looking at her impatiently and with anxiety. "She also mentioned that you are dying and there is no way to stop it."

Katherine stayed silent.

"That is when I left. I didn't want to lose you now that we've met. I know it sounds cheesy and all but it is true, even though it's been a long time. So I wanted to find a way to help you. I talked to everyone I know and everything turned out to be a dead end..."

"I knew there was nothing that could be done." those were only words Katherine said. She stood up and walked up to the window. She started to stare at the people gathered outside. She hated them. She was alive for more than 500 years and all she did was run and hide. Those people had no idea about the supernatural world that existed. They were lucky.

"As I said. It turned out to be dead end" Nadia continued her story "but then I've learned about the witch that lived in eastern Europe. She appeared to know something so I went to Russia to meet her. At first she was hesitant as all witches are when it comes to vampires. It took some time and some convincing but I managed to find out what she knows. She told me that there is a girl, human that knows more things about our supernatural world than most of us. She didn't tell me why that girl was special or how she knows everything she knows, but she told me where to find her.

"And did you?"

"No because there is a catch."

"There always is" Katherine turned around and responded. She was disappointed. For a second she believed that there is a way to save her. But that feeling quickly faded away. There's a witch who knows a girl who knows things. That's not enough, that is not even close to making her vampire again. What if that girl is only another link in that "solution". And what if that solution does not even exist.

Katherine remained silent Nadia also hasn't said a word. They both stared at each other for a while.

Katherine took a deep breath _Get a grip, girl_ she though _You are Katherine Pierce you are not weak, you never give up and you always do whatever it takes_. At this moment she decided to follow the trail that Nadia found for as long as she will be able to. She will not go down without a fight. She never did and hell, she is not going to start now.

"What is this catch you mentioned?" she finally asked.

"This girl. She will speak to us only if you come to see her personally. She knows about our story and she is willing to help you only if you will visit her with me."

"Fine." Katherine went over to her drawer "What are we waiting for. We're packing our stuff and setting of on our new adventure right away." She took her bag and began to pack her things.

As Katherine was trying to get herself ready to go she was interrupted when Caroline stormed into their room.

"What the hell is going on here Katherine? What are you up to, Evil one?" She asked when she realized what her roommate was doing.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting out of this hovel of a dorm room."

"It's not that bad." She looked around staring at the peeling wallpaper in the corner "...But wait don't change the subject. What is happening? And what is Nadia doing here?" Blonde said while pointing her finger at Katherine's bag. She seemed even more angry than when she first came into the room.

"We are leaving." Nadia interrupted a power stare between two roommates. "We need to go right away"

"We are going on a mother-daughter bonding trip. Thanks to you, Nadia and I are going to know each other better" Katherine couldn't stop herself with a sarcastic remark.

"You're mad I told her but she deserves to know what is happening to you. So why don't you stop being the bitch you usually are and tell me the truth. You can't leave. Damon and Elena ordered you to stay here. I'm suppose to protect you remember, Katherine? You're not a vampire anymore."

"I know I'm not but I don't need your protection. I still can take care of myself. Besides who are Damon and Elena to order me around. I'm my own person and I thought you we're too. Why are you still allowing them to order you around. You have so much potential Caroline."

"Where are you both going?

"Nadia?" Katherine asked. Thinking about this chance to become immortal again she forgot to ask Nadia where they were headed. She was too preoccupied with getting ready for their mission to ask her daughter where this girl she mention lived.

"We are going to Eastern Europe. Polish/Russian border to be exact. There is a village called Lenkupie, person we want to visit lives there."

"Wow. She couldn't have chosen some exotic place to hide. I don't know, Bahamas maybe or Mallorca." - Kat commented ironically.

"So why are you going there if you don't like it?" Caroline was even more curious than before.

"That is not of your concern."

"Fine!"

"Well that was easy" Katherine stated and went back to packing. It took her a while to realized Caroline was doing the same thing. She was packing her suitcase.

"And what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going with you." Caroline responded with a devious smile.

"No you're not. You are staying here. In any case, don't you have like some classes you need to attend or parties to go to. What about this boy of yours Jason or something?"

"It's Jessie. And no I have no engagements here. And I'm a vampire Katherine I can skip some classes. After all I have all time in the world to finish college. Whatever you're planning you could surely use another vampire to help you and I never been outside US so I could use a trip. See the world, you know?"

"No Caroline. Not a chance in hell." Katherine was angry. Why was Caroline so keen on spying her?

"We could use her Katherine" Nadia finally got up from Caroline's bed. She was trying to keep herself out of the conversation for now because she new Katherine always got her way, but Caroline could be right, having another vampire with them doesn't hurt. "If Caroline is willing to help us maybe we can let her in on our plan."

Katherine didn't trust Caroline. Caroline was loyal to Elena, Elena who was her best friend, Elena who Katherine screwed over to save herself. She couldn't be sure of Caroline's motives. Even though blonde vampire was good and honest up until now, both of them were enemies and they wanted to kill each other. Katherine trusted no one in her life an now she is suppose to count on her. Sure she saved her lately but only because Elena told her to. Caroline had a potential to be a great vampire but she was still holding on to her past, she was relying too much on her old friend, who will probably get her killed one day.

Katherine zipped her bag and handed it to Nadia. They were ready to go.

"Fine" she finally told Caroline" you can go with us. But no telling Elena for now. And you have to hurry up we don't have the whole day to wait for you." Blonde vampire was hesitant at first because she had always told Elena where she was going they were best friends and Elena counted on her. Caroline finally gave in a minute later, her desire of adventure won the internal debate.

"I have a car waiting to take us to the airport but we will have to compel ourselves one more ticket." Nadia took her cell out of her pocket and called the driver to be ready for them. Then she waited for Caroline to pack her bags, which didn't take long and the three of them were on their way. When they were sitting in a car driving away the radio played _Come as You Are_ by Nirvana.

_Come  
__As you are  
__As you were  
__As I want you to be  
__As a friend  
__As a friend  
__As an old enemy..._

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**That's it. That was the first chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for reading. I will try to upload the second chapter ASAP.**


	2. Chapter 2 Hope

**I am so happy so many people read my story:) Thank you so much to everyone who favorited or followed. It means the world to me. Special tanks to ****_Ilena Petrova _****for the amazing review :P**

**So without further ado I present the second chapter**

* * *

**Chapter 2. **

**Hope**

"Have I not made myself clear, Elijah?" Klaus' voice echoed across the room "I don't want her here. I do not wish for her to live in our house. MY HOUSE!" he was starting to get irritated with his brother. Why does Elijah have to be so stubborn? "She is not family. She does not belong in here and I don't want to hear another word about it."

"But she is family. She's carrying your child, Niklaus. You have to take care of her. We have to keep her save and make her as comfortable as we can given her current condition." Elijah responded patiently. He wanted to add that the child is his responsibility even before it's born but he stopped himself. The was no point in explaining it to his brother. He wouldn't have listened either way.

"We can keep her save. Just not here in this house. She will be better off in some far away, secluded place anyway. The place that no one knows she's in. And we can compel some vampires to keep an eye on her."

"Hayley is not some toy you can put away when she does not suit your needs, brother. She is a mother of your child!"

"Fine Elijah. If you are so worried about her you can take care of her yourself. You are more than capable of doing it. You can also find her a place to live nearby but she will be not residing here with us." Klaus was tired of those arguments with his brother. Same problems all over again. He slept with the girl once. He couldn't even stand her then. She was just meant to be distraction for one night and be gone the next day, but the fate has finally caught up with him making the girl he cannot stand mother of his baby.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn..." Elijah couldn't finish his sentence because they were interrupted by a female voice.

"Nik!" Rebekah shouted her brother's name "Nik!" - she repeated while opening the door to the study. Both brothers focused theirs eyesights on her.

"That's all Elijah. You can go now." He told his brother. Cutting off their conversation. Elijah hesitated for a while but then left quickly. When Rebekah started speaking again he was already gone.

"Nik. I am not your servant. There is one of your vampire-slaves here demanding to see you. I refuse to be a babysitter."

"Who is it Bekah?" Klaus asked. Still furious after his discussion with Elijah.

"I don't know and I don't care. Take care of your own schemes Nik I want no part of whatever your plans are." She turned around and was ready to leave the room. "He's waiting in the hallway."

Klaus followed Rebekah out of the room. He was wondering who was disturbing his peace. He had many spies around the city but he ordered them not to contact him directly and especially not to visit him in his residence. If this piece of garbage risked coming here, Marcel had to be up to something quite serious. But when Klaus entered the hallway he was surprised. It was the last of his pawns he expected to see.

"Patrick what the hell are you doing here? I entrusted you with one simple task and told you strictly not to leave."

"I know and I wouldn't have, but there were complications." The vampire answered. He was scared and had no idea what Klaus would do to him.

"What complications?" Klaus paused for a second and raised his hand up so the other vampire would not answer "Does not matter. Not here. Follow me so we would not be overheard." Klaus went back to the study where he and Elijah talked earlier. Patrick came after Klaus and closed the door behind him.

"Now tell me. What is it?"

"She's gone..." vampire replied calmly. Fear appeared in his eyes.

"What!" Klaus shouted "What do you mean she is gone? Was I not clear when I instructed you to follow her and keep her safe at all times." Patrick remained still and silent. "How did she managed to disappear? When was it? Tell me everything. I want to know every single detail." Klaus took a deep breath and sat down in his armchair "Speak!"

"It happened yesterday. It all started as usual she started her classes at 9.00 AM and attended all of them. I acquired a partner to keep an eye on her during classes. A guy named Jessie. He has the same schedule so he can watch over her then. After that she ate her usual "lunch" at 2.00 and had one more classes till 4.00. She is usually accompanied by her brunette friend but for about a week now she has been attending it alone. Yesterday was no exception. After that she went straight to her dorm room I followed her there but then I decided to take a watch outside the dorms. There is always many students there so I wouldn't get noticed."

"Get to the point Patrick!" Klaus was getting impatient.

"I'm getting there. So as I said she went to her room and I was outside just in case. After about half an hour she came out. There were two girls accompanying her. One was her friend - the doppelganger and the other - also brunette - I've never seen before. They were carrying bags with them. They got into a car that arrived few minutes earlier and drove off. I've tried to follow them, even compelled myself a car but I lost them at an intersection. Their driver was really good. I don't know where they went but it looked like they were going on a trip."

"You idiot!" It was not Klaus' day. Nothing went as he wanted it. Why was he surrounded by incompetent imbeciles. He should ripped this morons heart out of his chest right now.

"The guy - Jessie - had also no idea where she went. But we will find her, Klaus." Even though Patrick was almost two hundred years old he was terrified of Klaus like a little girl. Everyone was. "I will do whatever I can to find her."

"You better do. You have 48 hours or you will see firsthand what my anger looks like. And better pray she was not harmed in any way."

"I'll find Caroline."

"What are you still doing here. Get out!"

With that words Patrick speeded out of the room. Klaus went over to his mini bar poured himself a drink and sipped whisky out of the glass. Then he shoved the glass across the room. _Where have you gone to, love?_ he thought. Patrick said she looked like she was going on a trip with her friends but he knew Caroline and Elena. He knew that if those girls were going somewhere they were not doing it for recreational purposes. They had to be on some kind of mission. He hoped that she wouldn't get herself killed. Elena had a way of getting people around her killed or hurt even if it wasn't her intention. He also wondered if her disappearance had anything to do with him. Mystic Falls gang was over plotting against him, weren't they?

Hybrid took his phone out of his back pocket and decided to find out himself. He will call Caroline and ask her how she's doing and maybe he will discover something in the process.

He clicked the Call button and heard the signal. Seconds passed but she hadn't answered her phone. He wanted to try again but stopped himself so he would not look like his stalking her.

Caroline wouldn't leave her classes in the middle of a semester if it wasn't important. But who could know what is happening to her. And most importantly which of these people would be willing to talk to him.

He took his phone again and called another number.

_"You've reached Stefan's phone I cannot take your call right now so please leave me a message after the beep._"

"Splendid. Voicemail." He whispered to himself with disappointment. "This just keeps getting better and better."

* * *

The trip was not what Caroline had imagined. At first it was great. The driver left them at the airport and they were able to compel another first class ticket for Caroline. The plane was due to set off in an hour so they were able to board the plane right away.

First flight - to Frankfurt, Germany - took more than eight hours but it wasn't that bad since they were in the first class. Katherine and Nadia sat next to each other so they were able to talk but she was put across the aisle. That her contact with two of them somewhat straitened and the only thing to do was to watch a movie that was screened. That only took about two hours and finally she decided to take a nap. When she woke up Caroline was even more tired than when she was when she boarded the plane and it wasn't even half of their trip.

When they landed in Frankfurt Caroline wanted to see the city because their next flight - to Warsaw, Poland - was in more than four hours but Nadia told her if she did that she would have to go through customs again and she didn't want to risk it.

This next flight was shorter than the first one but more uncomfortable and there was no first class to sit in. When they finally landed and retrieved their luggage Caroline was exhausted and famished.

It's been 24 hours since she last fed. She had her last blood bag in the car when they were driving to the airport but there was no way too smuggle those blood bags on to a plane. Now after two flights three of them were driving "borrowed" car that Nadia was able to provide them. Nadia was proving herself to be very resourceful and useful. She also knew how to drive a stick shift which Caroline had no idea how to operate. There was just one thing that Caroline was not convinced about.

###

_"Caroline you should really eat something. You haven't fed for 16 hours." Nadia said to Blond vampire when they were leaving the airport in Warsaw. "We don't really have the luxury of eating from blood bags, do we?"_

_"I hate feeding from people. I told you that when we had a stopover in Frankfurt." Caroline responded._

_"Yes. I remember but you won't be killing them and we can always compel them to forget the pain. We will be here for some time you can't you restrain yourself the whole time."_

_"How would I even compel someone here. I don't know the language like you do."_

_"It's an airport, Caroline and it's the capital city. I'm sure there are many people here who understand English. "Nadia turned her head towards Katherine and said "Wait here while I'll find the car we could take." She faced Caroline again "Do as you wish Caroline but I think you should consider what I said. You can put your rules on hold while we're here. The world would not fall apart if you did. I know it will be hard for you but these are exceptional circumstances."_

###

At first Caroline thought she will be able not to feed on humans but now when they were driving for hours and she saw the landscape behind the windows change she started to realized that maybe Nadia was right and she will finally have to bent her rules.

"How long till we get there?" She asked Nadia quietly not wanting to wake up Katherine who was sleeping in the back seat. They were all tired but now that Katherine was human it was hitting her harder than Caroline and Nadia would have thought. Caroline was hoping that the girl they were going to see will find the solution for Katherine because she looked weaker every day.

"We are only half way through" Nadia finally responded.

"Do you like the trip so far?" Brunette added after a while "Is it what you expected when you heard we were heading to Eastern Europe."

Caroline didn't answer right away.. Her thoughts drifted away to the person she did not expected to think of, yet it seemed so natural. _Klaus._ It was him who promised to take her around the world and even if she was here because of Katherine she couldn't help herself to thing that somehow it's also because of him.

"Not exactly" She finally responded "but then again it is still very beautiful."

"Yeah. It is definitely not US. The country in not that rich especially the parts that we are going to but it somehow seems more beautiful this way." Nadia expressed her thoughts. She looked at the girl sitting next to her - baby vampire opening up for a world and it's endless possibilities for the first time.

"Well we don't know what the girl will tell us so we might end up visiting other places in Europe too. Prepare yourself to be amazed Caroline."

With that their conversation ended. They were driving in silence only radio silently played the song Caroline thought she have heard somewhere before. _High hopes _the screen on the radio read. _Well that's accurate_.

* * *

After another three hour drive Nadia eventually spotted the sing "_Lenkupie_". It was damaged but the name was still visible.

"We're here." She told her passengers.

"At last." Katherine said while trying to overcome a yawn. "But how do we find the witch."

"Technically she is not a witch." Caroline corrected her. She was finally in the loop about their entire plan. In the beginning the girls only told her there is a way to save Katherine. But during the drive while Kat was asleep Nadia filled her in on the whole story.

"I know but we can't go around asking people if they know a girl who knows everything about vampires and other supernatural freaks." Katherine said with her usual smirk. "You might even be staked for asking these kind of questions here. It think people here still burn witches at stakes."

"Don't be ridiculous Katherine" Caroline responded to her sarcasm "It's a nice little village."

"God! A girl can't even joke now. You know I don't have much time left, don't you? I want to enjoy it." Brunette wanted to tease Caroline a little.

"Stop. Both of you. "Nadia cut their discussion short. It wasn't funny for her. She didn't want to hear about Katherine dying even if it was just for laughs . "I'll park the car here and go ask around. You can join me or stay in the car."

"We'll stay. " Girls replied simultaneously.

"Fine." Nadia closed the door and headed to the nearest household. She took a little piece of paper from her jacket pocket. The only thing written on it was the girls name _Anja_. The witch that gave it to her said she is suppose to be in her late twenties. She hope it would suffice. There was no other way to locate her. She entered a yard and walked towards the door when she heard a voice coming from behind her.

_"Co pani tu robi?"_ The woman asked her.

_"Zastanawiałam się czy mogłaby mi pani pomóc. Szukam kogoś, ale nie znam dokładnego adresu."_ Nadia replied in polish.

_"Kogo pani szuka?"_ The woman asked Nadia about the name of the girl she was looking for.

_"Dziewczyny. Ma na imię Anja."_

_"Szalona Anja?"_ Woman seemed to be surprised that someone is asking about Anja. Nadia nodded. _"Nikt jej nie odwiedza. A kim pani jest?"_ Woman began to be suspicious. For now she just restrained herself to asking questions but decided to compel her if she would not cooperate.

_"Jestem jej daleką kuzynką, martwimy się o nią. Rodzina przysłała mnie żebym ją odwiedziła i sprawdziła jak się czuje, ale nie mogę trafić."_ Nadia lied that they were distant relatives and hoped this lady will believe it. After a while of hesitation the woman smiled and pointed the road that headed into the woods.

_"Pojedzie pani tą drogą, w lesie będzie polana a na jej końcu dom. Anja tam mieszka."_

_"Dziękuję bardzo."_ Nadia smiled back and thanked for the directions. _"Do widzenia."_ She waved goodbye and went back to the car. _Well that was easy_ she thought to herself.

* * *

Nadia found the clearing in the woods that the old lady was talking about. They saw the house in the distance.

"We'll leave the car here and walk the rest of the way." She stated to her companions. Katherine didn't seem to happy about walking the distance in her high heels but hasn't said a word. They've made it through and Nadia knocked on the door. It was silent for a while but finally the door have opened. Young blond woman was standing on the other side. She looked nothing like they expected. She was maybe 27, medium build, she had her hair put into a bun and was wearing pink dress. She looked... normal. Not crazy at all, like the woman said earlier.

_"Dzień dobry."_ Nadia spoke _"Szukamy Anji. Nazywam się... "_

"I know who you all are." Anja stated. Her English was good. Without any Eastern European accent "You must be Katerina" the girl pointed at Katherine "and you must be the daughter - Nadia - and you... I know about you too. Caroline? Am I right? Please come in and sit."

Nadia was impressed. The girl seemed to know everything about them. They all came inside. The room was pretty cozy with sofa and some armchairs in the middle. There was also nice, bricked fireplace and many shelves with all kinds of books.

"We came here ... " Nadia started speaking but was interrupted by Anja yet again.

"I know why you are here."The girl smiled. "You want my help, actually it's Katerina who needs my help."

"So can you help me?" Katherine asked. Her voice was subdued. She look scared like she didn't believe she was even there. She look at Caroline for a support but the blonde sat quietly on the side she didn't want to pry.

"Well I can but ..."

"I knew it there's always a catch." A single tear rolled down her cheek.

* * *

Song for the chapter: High hopes by Pink Floyd

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**That's the second chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. How do you like the story so far?**

**I apologize for any inaccuracies. Because my knowlege is limited I use google for research so that may cause some mistakes.**

**I think third chapter will be up on Saturday since it's almost ready.**


	3. Chapter 3 New chances

**Chapter 3. **

**New chances**

"Katherine maybe you will listen to what Anja knows. It won't hurt, you know" Caroline wanted to comfort Katherine. Even though they were enemies once, she could not help herself she felt bad for the girl. She has been through enough hell in her life. She should be able to get her second chance, her happy ending. "Seeing we've came all this way."

"I know a way to help you Katerina." Anja spoke slowly. Sitting in an armchair in front of Katherine, who was sitting on the edge of the sofa. She looked into her eyes trying to get through to her. "There is a way to help you but as I said there is one thing. The only way for this ... - for making you vampire again - to work, well ... is entirely up to you."

"So what is it?" Nadia asked? She was the only one standing.

"I'll tell you but I will need something in return" Nadia was furious. She lifted Anja from the chair and pushed her back against the wall holding her forearm against Anja's neck.

"Don't play games with us" Nadia said. Her fangs came out and veins under her eyes became visible.

"I am not playing games! I will tell you how to make you mother vampire again. I just want one thing from all of you. I want a promise. A promise that you will take me with you. I want to be with you and witness Katherine become immortal. That is all. Besides you could use me either way if there are some complications along the way." - Anja spoke it all in one breath. She wasn't terrified but there was still tiny possibility that Nadia could snap her neck.

"You want what?" Nadia asked while taking her arm of the girls neck. She had to be incredibly stupid or incredibly brave to make demands like this. She was just a human and there were two vampires in her house. Yet she wasn't afraid.

"I will leave you alone so you can decide." She left the room. Leaving her guests in her living room by themselves.

* * *

"So do you like it?" Elijah asked. He found this apartment for Hayley and hoped she would feel comfortable here. He'd still rather she lived in the mansion where he and Niklaus could protect her and take care of the baby. But Niklaus was adamant so Elijah had to work with what he've got. "I think you will find it very suitable. It's quite spacious."

"It's nice and cosy" the wolf girl responded impassively. The apartment was large. It had beautiful, lightsome parlor with leather sofas that looked expensive. There was also a bookcase and piano in the corner. In addition to the sitting room this new place had also two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a study and spacious kitchen with dining room. Hayley was impressed.

"How did you find it?" She put on a big smile.

"I actually rented it. The deed to the apartment is on friend's name so no one will know you live here. Besides Rebekah and I will be checking out on you as often as we can. You will also have fulltime protection provided by some vampires we acquired and compelled to look out for you. They will also be at your service. No other vampire will be able to come inside without invitation."

"And Klaus?" Hayley was curious about the Hybrid.

"Well, my brother seems to be otherwise occupied, so I don't think he'll be making an appearance. At least not now. I tried to convince him you should live with us in our residence but he thought it's safer for you to live elsewhere." Elijah lied smoothly. She didn't wish for the girl to be a victim of his brother's anger issues.

"Oh Elijah." Hayley smiled while watching framed photos placed displayed on the piano "What a polite way to say Klause wants me as far away from him as possible. It's all right I don't want to live with him either."

"But someone needs to take care of you and the baby."

"I can take care of myself. I'm great that way, you know? Besides, you have taken better care of me than Klaus ever would." She came over to Elijah and hugged him. "Thank you." She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Elijah stepped back a little. "I think I need to go. My brother wants me to take care of few other thing for him."

Hayley sat down on the sofa putting her legs up so she can rest. The Original vampire walked towards the door. "You can call me when you need anything. Any time." He said shutting the door behind him. He was starting to like this poor girl. It wasn't her fault that his brother was a tyrant. When she kissed him he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. But why would he, Niklaus wanted nothing to do with Hayley and he... well there was no woman in his life at this time. Not after what happened last time.

###

_"She's right." Katherine sighed. "Be smart, Elijah. Klaus is stark raving mad, not to mention completely irredeemable. Leave him to set off on this new adventure and lets you and I go out on ours." She approached him not interrupting her speech. "I have lost so much of my life to Klaus. So have you." She paused while gently grabbing his arms. Her eyes so beautiful yet so sad. He loved her so much. __His__ Katerina. "It's our turn. Elijah, please." Her voice shattered. _

_In that moment she was vulnerable. Her life and happiness where in his hands and he was about to break her heart. She was the greatest love of his life but he couldn't choose her. He had his obligation. He was loyal to his brother. Family above all, even if it meant leaving her here. He wasn't leaving her for real. She would always be in his heart, but it was safer for her to be as far away from Niklaus as possible. And he will take care of that._

_It was hard for Elijah to accept that Niklaus couldn't forgive Katerina. It was so long. So many years have passed._

_"Katerina..." He finally whispered. He cupped her face in his hand and put her soft hair behind her ear. He leaned in to gently kiss her goodbye, wanting to feel her sweet soft lips one last time but he couldn't. He couldn't do it to her. Giving her any sign of hope would be cruel. Even more cruel that what he was about to do. He stopped himself right before he reached her lips and pressed his lips softly on her forehead instated. This hurt so bad._

_" … Good bye." With these words he pulled away from her arms and left the house. Leaving her standing there dismayed, wounded and all alone. This time it could be for good. He had no courage to look back. He just left. He was a coward._

###

Elijah knew there was no going back this time. Not after what they did to each other for all these years.

* * *

"What?" Klaus picked up his phone. It was more than 48 hours and there were still no news about Caroline's whereabouts. She hasn't called him back, neither has Stefan. And Patrick and his "friend" ware useless. He was suppose to find Caroline in 2 days. Time was up and he knew nothing "You better have some news for me or it will be the end of you."

"We've got something. The new vampire that works for me, I was talking to you about him..."

"I do not care about him. I just want to know if you found her."

"So my boy Jessie was able to find some things out. We know she went to an airport. But neither her or her friend Elena weren't on any passenger manifest that day. They must have used fake names so we are not able to tell what flight they took. But Klaus..." Patrick paused, waiting for Klaus' reaction. Vampire knew The Hybrid would not be happy.

"Yes?" Klaus was getting irritated by this incompetent moron.

"We've found out she and her friend entered international terminal." Patrick took a breath "She's out of country."

"Find. Out. Where. She. Went." Klaus breathed out the words angrily.

Something was definitely not right. Why would Caroline leave the country? Neither she, nor Elena and Bonnie had no relatives or friends outside US. Not that he knew of. Why were the three of them suddenly flying somewhere abroad.

Since there was no progress in Caroline's case Klaus hoped Rebekah will provide some good news for him. She was suppose to infiltrate Marcel's organization and learn what was Marcel's plan for killing him. Yet so far Rebekah had no luck. Perhaps today would bring a new piece of information. Leaving his study Klaus headed upstairs hoping he will find Rebekah in her room.

"I see you are entertaining yourself alone. Hope she's not local Rebekah." She said seeing her sister with a beautiful redhead in her bed. "And please cover yourselves, would you?"

"Would you fuck the hell out of here Nik! I'm busy!" She shouted while putting her bedcovers as high as she could. But her brother hadn't moved an inch. "Still here?"

"I've asked you a question. Besides you leaving in my house Bekah" He replied. Sardonic smile still on his face.

"I've found her in a bar. She's a tourist... and you said it's our house." She reminded him. "Have you changed our mind once again Nik?" After she saw his impatient look she finally asked. "So what do you want? Why are you here?"

"I want to know if there is any development in Marcel's case?"

"No. Not yet. These vampires inside Marcel's inner circle are very tight lip and the others had no idea about his plan. You know they won't tell me anything. I'm your sister after all."

"You're useless Bekah. I don't know why I even keep you around."

"Because then you would be all alone!" Female Original was becoming agitated. "But then again it's what you deserve. It is me who should be leaving you behind after all of those times you've daggered me and put mi inside those boxes!"

"As always you're overreacting lil' sister." Nik calm voice interrupted Rebekah's shouting.

"Leave Nik! This is my room and I want to enjoy myself without your presence. Good riddance!" She yelled while taking glass from her bedside table and throwing it at her brother while still keeping one hand over her body to cover herself.

* * *

After enjoying herself with the pretty redhead Rebekah compelled her to forget and leave. Then she left the residence. She must admit, she had been lucky today. The girl was quite skilled in bed, especially with her tongue and she tasted good too. Rebekah hadn't had that much fun for a long time, the things they did to each other... . She decided to go for a walk. She was suffocating in this house with Nik strolling around the rooms. She loved her brother but he had have hurt her so many times that she lost her self along the way, no longer knowing who she is on her own.

Now that the Blond Original was walking the streets of New Orlean she was thinking about her future. Staying here and infiltrating her old boyfriends kingdom was pointless. There was no way for her to ever gain Marcel's trust. She could also leave Niklaus behind go to Europe, this time for good and never again look behind. But that would mean leaving Elijah too and she was not ready for that. _Always. And forever._ they had promised themselves once.

She went back to them moment she was walking down the stairs half hour ago. Niklaus has bothered her again. God forbid she had a moment for herself. She was given another assignment. Nik told her that she was suppose to learn Stefan's whereabouts and eventual Mystic Falls gang's new plan of killing her brother. He was getting a quite paranoid lately. Even more than usual. His idea of spying Marcel was acceptable. There was definitely something going on with Marcel and his crowd. But with Stefan? They left Mystic Falls many months ago. Rebekah was certain that all those guys already moved on with their lives.

Then again finding Stefan now hadn't seem such a bad idea. It would give her the space from Klaus she desperate needed while maintaining illusion that she is still fulfilling his wishes. Besides she missed Stefan a little so it would be fun to see him again provided he wasn't accompanied by doppelganger Elena.

Once made her decision Rebekah didn't want to waste any time. Keen on leaving NOLA as quickly as she could she speeded back home to pack her bags and inform Nik about her resolution.

* * *

After Anja left the room girls considered her conditions. Katherine wasn't convinced that Anja was being honest with them but Caroline seemed to think her demands weren't unreasonable and it was worth taking the risk. Even Nadia was prepared to agree with her terms. After all Anja was only human and she could be dealt with if something went wrong along the way. There was after all no time to waste. They had to make decision quickly. Actually it's Katherine who had to make that decision, but it was nice to have a support group. Even if it was the daughter she has just met and little too enthusiastic, ex-enemy blond vampire.

Decision was made.

Now that Anja re-entered the living room she noticed that her guests were more enthusiastic than before she left.

"Have you made your decision yet?" She asked carefully. Even though she knew what the answer will be.

"We did." Katherine responded. "So you wish to accompany us until I become vampire again. After that you will leave us and be on your way back home. No tricks. No more made up terms along the way?"

"No. I was pretty straight forward. I just want to help you and it would be nice to see the things happen right in front of my eyes and not just to hear about them."

"Good." Nadia approached Katherine and stood by her side. "You know that if you try something with us we can easily end your life."

"There is no need for that. I was being honest with you from the beginning."

"So that's settled. You can finally tell us what's the plan for making me my fabulous self again." Katherine regained her confidence.

"Yeah" Caroline joined their discussion "I'm dying to know... . I'm dying of curiosity."

"Ok. Let's all sit down. I will make us drinks and tell you all about my idea. But you must know Katherine... " Anja's face became serious for a while "the success of this plan is mostly up to you and your will of life." With these words she walked over to her adjoined kitchen space, opened her cabinet, took away some glasses and bottle of vodka and poured each of them a drink.

There was a long evening ahead of them. There was no reason they shouldn't have a little fun while they were talking "business".

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Song : Bones by MS MR

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**Wow. The story is constantly changing in my head. Everytime I write a new chapter it is like the storyline has a life of its own.**

** sandiw1875 I'm so glad you like the story. Thanks for reading. I makes me happy that people enjoy it.**

**Hope you all liked third chapter. As always thanks for reading. **

**Reviews are always welcomed.**

**See you all with chapter four. :)**


	4. Chapter 4 Past

**Hi guys! I'm back with another update. This chapter is mainly Katherine focused. Hope you like it :)**

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**Chapter 4. **

**Past**

"Na zdrowie!" Anja said and drank her glass right away. She wanted to break the ice. Alcohol usually helps and taking the shots with her quest seemed like a good start of their adventure. She knew she had to prove herself to them and they weren't easily-trusting kind of gals.

"Na zdrowie." Others responded and followed their hostess footsteps but with less enthusiasm.

"So now we can talk." She said. "The plan is actually pretty simple but there are many factors that can influence it. So we have to be precise with everything we do from this point on."

"Just tell us everything you know. Every detail." Katherine didn't want to waste any time.

"You might not know this Katerina" Anja focused on Katherine's face "but your bloodline is quite interesting, actually. Very exceptional."

"That I know. I am a doppelganger after all." Katherine interrupted her rudely. "Tell us something we don't already know."

"I'm not saying about the doppelganger course." Girl continued her story. "There is something else that is very peculiar. Every woman in your line gave birth to exactly one girl. There were cases that boys were also born but it was always one baby girl and she was always first to be born."

Anja realized that the girls was getting impatient but she was enjoying the story and it was the first time she had an opportunity to tell it to someone so she wanted to savor it as long as she could. She usually hated having people over. It was really tiring for her. But curious expressions on their faces were so delightful she felt happy she was finally useful for someone and she wanted it to last. Even though Anja didn't know them at all she felt more comfortable with them than with her own family.

"There is also another element that seemed to be repeated every generation." she proceed with her narration. "Every single Petrova woman became vampire."

The girls were shocked. Disbelieve appeared in their expressions. But it was Katherine to speak first.

"What? That can't be true. How?" She spoke rapidly.

"Even you mother, Katerina. She was changed by one of Klaus' minions when he came to Bulgaria to kill your family. She was killed shortly after her transformation was completed, so she wasn't a vampire that long but that doesn't change the fact she was one of you."

"That's... " Katherine was shocked. Her vision became blurred and tears went to her eyes with the recollection of her mother and her happier times. She couldn't believe Klaus would make her family suffer so much. No, she wasn't surprised. He was a monster after all. _Her mother. Vampire?_ "impossible." She finished her sentence .The two vampires remained silent.

"Klaus never told you that?" Anja asked Katherine. It wasn't her intention to make her suffer through it. Caroline turned away her face. She couldn't look at Kat. Not with what she was feeling.

"No. I had no idea." One horrific idea came to her mind. "Did Elijah know?" She couldn't lived with the idea he could have known and didn't tell her.

"That I don't know. But he wasn't there. That I know for sure. So it is quite possible he has no idea."

They all sat in silence for a while waiting for Katherine to digest the new piece of information.

"How do you know any of that?" Nadia was curious.

"I will tell you when the time is right but for now let me continue with the story. "Anja poured yet another shot of vodka and gave the first glass to Katherine. They all drank in silence. After a while she continued.

"So your mother became vampire, you, your daughter up till Isobel and Elena. All of your Petrova descendants were transformed into vampires. All except one. Her name was Francesca he died in 1803 in Italy. Her death was tragic. She died in a child birth. Her daughter Bernice had survived but she died right after labor. She wasn't even allowed to hold her baby. Because she died in a childbirth she never became vampire. She died human."

"That's quite an interesting story you know about my family but how does it help me?" Katherine was playing with vodka bottle and took one gulp straight from it. She thought the story was fascinating and under any other circumstances she would gladly listen to it but there was no time for that now.

"When someone becomes a vampire ones soul transforms with him. There are two spheres in a afterlife world: supernatural and human. And these areas never mix with each other. They can never percolate. Ever. So even in afterlife there is a boundary between these worlds. Human ghost can't interact with supernatural ones. They simply can't see each other. Even when ghosts are able to somehow communicate with living the boundary still exists so that humans can only see ghost of people who died human and its is the same with supernatural creatures. These ghost can see the world of living but they can't communicate outside their sphere."

"So that is why Jeremy could only see ghosts of vampires? Because he was a hunter?" Caroline was quite taken with the story.

It was the first time she disrupted Anja's plot line, but she couldn't help herself. Becoming vampire opened her to this amazing world full of secrets and things she otherwise would have never learn about. Of course it was sometimes dangerous but mostly it was just captivating. She loved that part of her life. She was bewitched by it. "He was only able to connect with the people from _The Other Side_."

"You're mostly right. But _The Other Site _you think of isn't the whole supernatural world in the afterlife. As I said supernatural world and human world in afterlife were always separated. The Other Side was created many centuries later. It's an artificial creation. I would compare The Other side to purgatory only specific supernatural creatures are trapped there. They had to be somehow marked during they lifetime to be put in there after their death."

Anja was starting to descend from the topic and she saw Katherine's irritated gaze urging her to get to the point.

"As I was saying Francesca's soul was never transformed and so she preserved her aura or her human mark as you may call it." She finally explained the most important part of the plan. "The idea that we want to implement is to transfer Francesca's aura to you Karherine, so that you would be fully human again. That would allow you to become vampire once more." Anja's paused for a while, then she added. "In theory."

"What do you mean in theory?" Nadia asked.

"Something like this was never done before. Your lineage is special, unique. It should work but it is not 100% guaranteed."

Katherine couldn't help to be a little disappointed. The story that Anja was telling them seem far-fetched. Even though the girl seemed to be sure of her knowledge, it all appeared to be a little unrealistic. Trading human auras with her long dead descendant like it was a casino chip. On the other hand she travelled this far and no one had any better ideas. Nadia was willing to do everything to help her so maybe there was still a chance.

"So what do we do now?" She asked.

"First thing we need visit the spot Francesca died or at least where she was buried."

"But how will we find it? It was like 200 years ago." Katherine asked again "Won't it be long gone. I mean her grave?"

"Francesca's family was quite wealthy at the time. That is why her grave still stands. And I already know where to find it."

"You do. Of course you do. You seem to know everything" Nadia was being more skeptical than Katherine.

"Nadia lets allow the girl to speak, shall we?" Katherine directed her sight at Anja once again. "So we've found the grave, what then?"

"The aura has to be given by Francesca willingly. You will have to convince her ghost that you are worthy of her gift. And since you are not able to see her and you won't be able to hear you I will have to help you with that."

Anja finally reached the moment where she had to reveal truth about herself and she was a little nervous but also relieved she can share her burden.

"I will be able to help you because I can see ghosts of people. All of them. So I will act as a middleman between the two of you." Her listeners where a little surprised but they didn't seem shocked with her revelation. "Once we convince her to help you we will perform the transference spell. We'll need five powerful witches for that."

"I don't know that many witches in Europe that will be able to perform that kind of spell in short period of time we have" Nadia stated. Gathering five powerful witches in this short period of time could be difficult. If not impossible.

"You've talked to Irina, am I right? That is how you found me?" Anja knew Irina from when she was a little girl. She was the one that explained her her gift. Every other person just thought she was crazy or craving for attention. Even her own parents were uncomfortable with her behavior. And then she met Irina. She just appeared out of nowhere in the psychiatric ward in her hospital and convinced her parents to let her live in some secluded place where Anja would have lesser contact with dead souls. Anja later learned that it was thanks to magic that Irina was able to change her parents mind.

"Yes but..." Nadia wasn't sure if Irina will be willing to help. After all it took her a long time to convince the witch to tell her about Anja.

"She is very powerful and very respected amongst the witches here. I'm sure she will be able and willing to help. We can talk to her together."

"Ok. So when the transfer is complete will I be able to become vampire again?" Katherine was eager to know the rest of the plan.

"Yes." Anja was getting to the end of her story. "The last thing you need is the blood from a vampire that made you or a vampire higher in that bloodline."

"But that means." Fear appeared in Katherine's eyes. The sentence that Anja spoke was synonymous with her death sentence. "Rose is dead and ... well all of them are dead. All of them accept Klaus." _Klaus. _The name echoed in her head. "I know that for a fact. There is no way he will change me into vampire again. He will kill me before that happens."

"But he doesn't have to change you. You just need his blood for transformation" Caroline wanted to help. After all Klaus was willing to give her his blood when her friends were bitten by a werewolf. He saved Damon for God's sake.

"And how do you suggest I get it" Katherine stood up from her seat and started pacing across the room. "I know I will sneak up to his villa, cut him while his asleep and collect the blood into a container." Her voice speeded up "And little fairies will fly me away with their magic dust. Wake up Blondie! I'm screwed."

"There is no need to be vulgar Katherine." Caroline wanted to remain calm "and you don't have to offend me while I'm trying to help you."

"And what will you do? Ask your boyfriend to kindly give some of his blood to his biggest enemy?" She was now screaming.

Caroline was pissed. "Fuck you, bitch." She approached her with vampire speed. "I'm trying to help you and all you do is being giant pain in the ass." She raised her hands and closed the distance between them to the minimum. "First of all. He. Is. Not. My. Boyfriend? Kapish? Second. I think he will give you his blood because I will ask him for it. He doesn't have to know it is for you."

"Yeah like that will work." Katherine responded but she was no longer yelling.

"He does not have to know why I need it." Caroline put an evil smile on her face. "I will just tell him I need it. I'm sure he won't mind."

"Fine. If you think it will work."

"I'm practically sure it will." Caroline went back and sat on the sofa. She wasn't 100% sure it will work. But she was willing to try. And she didn't want to take away Katherine's hope. "So that's it. We go visit the grave, have witches transfer human mark and feed Kat Klaus' blood then kill her." She said and smile again.

"Be careful Caroline. I see what you doing here." Nadia realized what idea formed inside of Caroline's head and she didn't like it. "You might be vampire too but I'm older than you ... and stronger." She said seriously.

"Don't worry Nadia" Katherine cut in. "I'm sure Caroline meant nothing wrong." It would be kind of poetic justice she killed Caroline while she had Damon's blood in her system now she could have her revenge. "Am I right, Caroline?"

"Of course. I just stated the fact." She understood Katherine perfectly. They were starting to get along just fine.

"So what do we do now?" Nadia asked Anja.

"I suggest we get ready. Prepare everything we need for the travel and make arrangements with Irina about the witches. It's already dark so you can spend the night here. We will set off first thing in the morning." She showed them around the house. "There is a guest bedroom with two spare beds. And the couch is convertible so there is enough place to sleep for everyone. Please make yourselves comfortable."

It was a little after 5 in the morning and sun was barely up in the sky but the four women in the house were no longer sleeping. All their bags were packed and meals were prepared. There was a little problem with blood for Nadia and Caroline. But they will just have to take care of it along the way.

They've located the tomb that Francesca's body was buried, they planned their route and means of transportation. They were headed to little cemetery located near city called Brescia in the region of Lombardy - North Italy. About 90 kilometers east from Milan if you take a highway. They have a long way ahead of them so they have to set off right away.

Caroline had figured out the way to convince Klaus to give her his blood and she thought it sounded legitimate. There was only one thing left to do.

Anja talked to the witch Irina on the phone for over an hour now trying to convince her to help them. And she was finally giving in. The conversation was hard even without Irina's arguments against their cooperation because Anja's russian was a little rusty and Irina didn't want to speak to Nadia. Whose russian was perfect.

"Spasiba, Irina." Anja smile when she finally agreed to help them and ensemble a group of witches. She thanked Irina. "Do svidaniya." She ended the phone call with a huge relief. "She agreed to meet us in Brescia." Anja told he companions. They were finally getting somewhere.

"Hurray!" Caroline jumped with joy hugging Katherine. Katherine wasn't happy about their exchange of feeling but she hugged her back. She couldn't help but feel a little relieved, like a part of her burden were lift from her heart. "So what are we waiting for?"

"I believe we've done everything we planned so there's no need to stay here." Nadia spoke while picking up her bag. " Caroline and I will take care of the bags and put them in the trunk. And you two take everything else and join us when you lock everything up." She grabbed Katherine's bag and left the house.

Caroline followed soon after that. Leaving Katherine and Anja in the house.

"Are you ready?" Anja asked Katherine when they were alone. She was nervous herself she couldn't imagine how Katherine was feeling.

"As I ever be" she grabbed her purse. "Shall we?" a warm smile filled her face as she took a step forward.

They made their way towards the car. Nadia already sitting behind the wheel and Caroline once again sat in a passenger seat. Engine on. They were ready to start the journey.

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Song : The world is not enough by Garbage

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**Once again I want to thank everyone who read, followed, favorited and reviewed my story. It is so nice to write this story that people enjoy. You guys are the best :)**

**This will propably be the last chapter before TVD returnes with 100th episode. So I want to wish everyone great time while watching it. I hope it does not disappoint. Fingers crossed we'll get our Kalijah and Klaroline scenes.**

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** mari; Anna the Vampire Princess - Glad you like the story. I'll try update chapters as soon as I can. It will propably be once a week though. **

**I apologize for any mistakes I made.**

**Reviews are always welcomed.**

**See you with the next chapter :)**


	5. Chapter 5 News

**Hi everyone :) I give you all Chapter 5. If there are any Rebekah fans among you, then you will be happy because she is a main focus here.**

**As you may have noticed I changed the cover of this story. Hope you like it. (I am not good with graphics but I wanted to do something for this story.)**

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**Chapter 5. **

**News**

Klaus walked into his residence after a meeting with one of his spies. This was actually the first meeting that proved to be fruitful. He learned two interesting things. Marcel has acquired himself a new accomplice. Though this vampire didn't know his name he told Klaus it was a male vampire that was new in town and the word on the street is he has special abilities. Klaus has also learned about Marcel's secret weapon. Apparently he was close with a girl - a witch - who has extraordinary powers. Despite of her young age she seems to posses combined abilities of many witches. He was wondering if she could pose a threat to him and his family.

Klaus went back to thinking about the first case. Hybrid knew that to get to Marcel's inner circle he had to know something big, something that could be useful to Marcel. He was very careful and wouldn't let some random vampire let into his trusted group unless he or she had something to offer.

Klaus approached his bar and poured himself a drink. He was alone. Rebekah went to check upon Stefan and his crew and Elijah was occupied with the bloody werewolf. He could now have a moment for himself. He took the glass with him and went to his Atelier. He enjoyed spending his free time there. Thinking, reminiscing. Lately he has been working on a new painting but he wasn't able to finish it. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't make it right. He wanted it to be perfect. But apparently it would never be as good as the real thing. This Girl was just breathtaking. Sheer perfection. And his work didn't do her justice at all.

He sat down on his brown-leathered sofa and took a sip of his drink. The painting haunting him from across the room.

He went back to his problem with Marcel.

It had to be Tyler. The secret companion of Marcel's. It had to be him. When Tyler came to him and told him he will do everything in his power to destroy him and make his life miserable Klaus knew he wasn't lying. He had this kind of madness in his eyes. Guess both of his proteges were now working together to destroy him.

_Oh, Irony_

Phone ring disturbed his train of thoughts. _Patrick_ the screen showed.

"Finally" he picked up the phone "I really hope you have a news for me Patrick! It's been a long time..." he said. His voice impatient. He hoped he would hear some good news today.

"They flew to Frankfurt and then straight to Warsaw." The vampire paused. "I can sent you the security tapes we've found."

"Poland?" Klaus was astonished "Why there?"

"We have no idea. But we know for a fact that they hadn't flown anywhere else from this airport so it had to be their destination."

"Find out Patrick. I don't care what you do. Find out. And send me the security tapes right away." He hanged up without waiting for Patrick to respond.

Klaus took his iPad and opened his mail to see the message from Patrick pop in. He opened first attachment and played the video of Caroline, Elena and a third woman at the security gate. This girl definitely wasn't Bonnie as he thought it was. And she was a vampire because he noticed her compelling the man so they could board the plane without passports.

He watched all the videos. Every video was similar. Always three of them making their way through the airport. One thing seem to catch his interest though. Even though Caroline and Elena were best friends it seemed like Elena spent more time focusing on the other girl than on Caroline. Or was he exaggerating?

He took his phone decided to call his sister.

* * *

Rebekah was exhausted. Driving from New Orleans to Mystic Falls was not one of her brightest ideas. At first she planned to start her investigation right away but now she wasn't so sure. Now she just wanted to go back to her old room, lie down and sleep.

She parked her car in a driveway took her bag and came inside. She hasn't been here five months. She made her way upstairs prepared herself a bed and took a quick shower.

When she was getting to bed she saw one missed call from Nik but decided to ignore it. She was too tired to talk to her brother. Not with his possessive personality. Talking to Nik was always challenging task.

She woke up next day and it was already noon. There was time to roaming around she decided to compel first person she meet for breakfast and then go straight to Salvatore's Mansion.

When Rebekah finally got there first thing that seemed out of place was the dreading silence. She thought it was uncanny. She came into the house and shout asking if someone was inside but no one answered her. It was weird. Wanting to be absolutely sure Blond Original checked every room. Even the creepy basement where they store their blood bags. Nothing. No one was home.

Since Stefan hadn't answered his phone, she despised Damon and Elena, and Caroline was at Whitmore there was only one person left to talk to. She wasn't really looking forward to this conversation since they left things not exactly on the greatest terms. Well, that's not true. _She_ didn't leave on a good terms. After two months of their summer adventure she left him as soon as they got back to US. Leaving only kiss to her car and message she wrote on a piece of paper.

_Matthew,_

_I really had to go. I'm truly concerned about Elijah so I'm going to NOLA to find out what is wrong._

_I hate to leave you here but you know I'm bad with goodbyes._

_I'm sure we'll see each other one day. _

_Forgive me..._

_Love,_

_Bekah_

That was the note she wrote to him when she sneaked out of their hotel room in the middle of the night. She took care of the bill and left not looking back. Now she had to face him. After what she did.

Rebekah didn't expect to see him this soon. But there was no other way.

She decided to go to The Grill first. As far as she knew he still worked there and it would be better to meet him in public. She was afraid to meet him face to face. It was irrational fear but that didn't change the fact that she was nervous.

When she walked in there wasn't many people inside. It was too early for happy hour. She felt relieved when she saw some girl behind the bar. So he wasn't working today she will have to visit him at Lockwood former residence.

"Rebekah?" She heard familiar voice coming from behind her "What are you doing here?". She turned around to see his face. He definitely wasn't happy to see her. His voice suggested that but the face expression left her no doubt. She stood there in silence for a while. The sight of him walking away from her brought her back to reality.

"I came for a visit" she spoke instantly regretting the excuse she choose.

"How nice of you" he answered. He didn't even try to hide his sarcasm. "Sorry but I've got work to do. Nice seeing you Rebekah. Goodbye."

He went away carrying some boxes to the back room. She didn't even notice he was holding them up until now. And he called her Rebekah. Not Bekah or Beks as he used to. Though she shouldn't be surprised.

She followed him to the room.

"I'm sorry... to be bothering you." She hesitated. "But it's important."

"What is it that could be so important you need to speak to _me?"_

"It's about Stefan..."

"Of course it is." He said and went back to unpacking the contents of the box.

"It is not like _that_." She expressed. She didn't want to tell him the real reason she is looking for Stefan. But that would make it a lot easier. "It's about Nik. He has something important to talk about with Stefan but he cannot reach him so I was sent to find him."

"You are not the only one"

"What do you mean?" She was curious.

"Stefan is missing. Or he went away and doesn't want to be found. Elena and Damon are looking for him for like a three weeks now. They had no luck finding him. Maybe you will..."

"How long is he missing?"

"Since the graduation I suppose."

"And couldn't your friend Bonnie perform some kind of location spell to find him or something like that?" He didn't answer. His face just went blank and he wasn't looking at her anymore. "Matt?" she asked slowly, wanting to know what was wrong.

"She's dead" a small tear fell from his eye. "She died."

Rebekah was shocked. The witch was dead. Well, it wasn't like Rebekah like her or anything. But she was Matt's friend. She listened to the whole story how Bonnie died and how Jeremy kept it a secret for the whole time. When he was done they stood there silent for a while.

"You should go now." He broke the silence. "I really need to work."

"I'm sorry" she spoke. "About Bonnie. I'm sorry." And then she left him. Again. She will have to find Stefan by herself.

To find Stefan she will definitely need some witch assistance. Only one that came to mind was Aubrey. She was powerful enough and additionally psychic, she could do the trick. But the trip to her place would take Rebekah almost a day. She wasn't happy about another drive but what could she do?

She needed one of Stefan personal belongings for the witch to find him but she will take care of that first thing in the morning before she will hit the road. She knew she will find something at Salvatore's house. Today she was done with the search.

She bought herself a bottle of whisky and decided to drink it by herself while listening to some good music. That's all she wanted to do tonight.

* * *

There was incessant, annoying sound coming from far away. It took a while for Rebekah to realize it was her phone. Why was anyone calling her so early. She was enjoying her sleep. She thought it was probably Nik because she still hasn't call her back. She took a deep breath to prepare herself for that conversation.

"What do you want Nik?" She answered the call without looking at her phone.

"Hmmm, it's Matt." The voice on the other side spoke "I was wondering if you could meet me today before I go to work." There was a loud sigh. "Just to talk about Stefan I mean. You wanted to find him so I thought we could talk."

"Oh," Rebekah didn't know what to think. He might not wanted to talk about what happened between them. Maybe it was better to forget about the past and act like it didn't happen. "Ok. Could you meet me in Salvatore's house at... "she looked at her watch "7. We can talk there."

"Why there?" Matt asked.

"There is one thing I have to take care of."

"Ok. See you there." He hang up on her before she could say another word.

She had only twenty minutes to get her and she still had to take a shower and change. She had to hurry.

When she got there Matt was already there. He was waiting for her in the driveway. She approached him they awkwardly said hello and came inside the house.

"So are you still going to look for Stefan?" Matt asked.

"Yes I am. I've got a plan already and I just need something personal that belongs to him. For a spell."

"That is why we're here?"

"Yeah" Rebekah took a look around "but I think we have better chances of finding something upstairs?"

"How about one of his journals?" Matt suggested while following her up the stairs. "We should be able to find some in his room"

"His journals? Oh, right I remember he mentioned something about it once." They entered his room and looked around. "Where do you suppose we will find it?" Rebekah asked.

"How should I know?"

It took them almost half an hour to find the journals behind the secret compartment next to the bed. They haven't spoke a single world for the entire time.

"So I guess that's it." Rebekah spoke and looked straight at Matt's face. She put one of the journals into her bag.

"What will you do now?"

"I already made arrangements to see my witch. I'll be going right away to see her so I can be back as quickly as I can. Do you maybe... " the Original hesitated "want to come with me?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Matt said. They were making their way out of the room and going downstairs. He continued "I have to be at work in less than half an hour and I really can't afford to take a free day." They went outside and stood in the driveway. "Will you let me know when you find him? I'm sure Elena and Damon would want to know what is happening to him."

"Sure." Rebekah responded. Maybe it was better if she went by herself. That way if she learns something important she could keep it to herself. "I'll try my best." She lied.

"See you next time?" Rebekah got inside her car.

"Good bye, Bekah." Matt smiled a little and walked away headed into the town.

Rebekah started the engine and drove away. There was a long way ahead of her.

* * *

After Rebekah reached Aubrey's place she came across a little obstacle. The girl that was sitting on Aubrey's porch told Rebekah that the witch is currently out and won't be back till the sundown or even the following day. Apparently her friend went into labor early this morning and Aubrey presence was required.

Rebekah wanted to turned back around and leave when she decided upon another idea.

"Do you know where this friend lives?" she asked a little girl.

"Yes. But you can't go there." The girl responded strongly. Even though the girl looked like she was maybe seven she acted like a mature person.

"What's your name, little girl?" Rebekah was considering compelling the girl for answer however took more harmless approach.

"Sarah. And I am NOT little." The girl said and smiled.

"Listen Sarah," Rebekah leaned in so that her face was close to girls' face "it's imperative- I mean very important that I see Aubrey today."

"It's about your friend, isn't it?" When Rebekah heard her words she was stunned. How did that girl know why she was here?

"How... " That were only words that came out of her mouth.

Sarah stood up from a chair and took Rebekah's hand. "I'm Aubrey's daughter you know?" She pulled Original vampire behind her so they both sat on the steps.

Rebekah was once again stunned. If that girl was her daughter did that make her psychic too? Is that the reason why this little girl seemed to know the purpose of her visit.

"Your friend, Stefan." The girl continued "He has been forgotten and it's been a long time since anyone's seen him." Sara turned her head from Rebekah and look beyond horizon "But now you need to find him and you are not the only one that is looking."

"Yes, there is also his brother."

"You brought his belongings. Give it to me. I will help you find your friend."

"But why? You must surely know who I am. Why are you so eager to help me?"

"Because your friend is in a lot of pain." She put the journal that Rebekah gave her next to her. "Wait here for a second I need to find a map." She stood up and run inside the house. She came back few moments later holding the map in her hands. She kneeled on the porch next to The Original Vampire and laid down the map so they can see it clearly.

It was something about this girl that Rebekah couldn't quite describe. She was so cheerful, so alluring

and so innocent yet she seemed like she's lived a hundred lives. Rebekah was drawn to her and she had no idea why. Maybe it was that need inside of her, this desire to have a children of her own one day. And now it was even less possible than before. The cure was not hers to take.

"Besides I'm not helping you." The girl spoke once again while she took Stefan's journal and placed it in the lower left corner of the map. "I am trying to restore some of the balance that was upset."

She put her left hand on the and performed an enchantment in Latin.

"Give me your left hand" Rebekah slowly execute the command. "You need to puncture your vein so we can use you blood for this spell."

Rebekah bit her hand and gave her hand to Sarah. The girl took her wrist in her right hand while her left still remained on the journal. She spoke more word in latin while the blood was dripping on the map.

At first nothing happened. Sarah released Rebekah's hand and stared into the map in a silence for a while. They reveled the location - Mystic Falls.

"Your friend" Sarah spoke. Her eyes was now closed and she had trouble breathing. "He is in a dark, small space." She paused to catch a breath. "There's water. Water everywhere. He's drowning. Time after time he's dying." A tear fell from her eye. Rebekah's heart broke for the girl but she was not able to interrupt her. "He needs you to get him out- " that was all. Her vision ended.

Sarah opened her eyes. She was breathing a little faster than usual but despite that she seemed fine.

"How will I find him?" Rebekah finally asked.

"You will know where to look. You need to go now. It is important."

"Maybe I should get you home?"

"I'm OK." She gave Rebekah this amazing smile. Rebekah wanted to stay and make sure the girl was fine. But she insisted that Rebekah leave.

"Thank you, Sarah." She made her way to her car. "I hope to see you again one day."

"Be careful, Rebekah. There is more to this than it seems." Sarah walked inside the house.

Rebekah got inside the car. She decided to call Matt and tell him what she's learned. Maybe he will have some idea where to find Stefan. But first she just needed to find a place to spend the night.

* * *

Song for this chapter : Shelter by The xx

* * *

**You all make me soooo happy. For me every time someone reads, favorites, follows or reviews my story is like eating chocolate - and I love chocolate, really love it :):):)**

**The next chapter will be a little game-changer and it will be a start of the plot for the remaining of the story.**

**_If you are yet to watch 100th episode of TVD don't read the following. Everyone else proceed._**

**_I must admit I am kind of angry and disappointed with this episode when it comes to Kalijah. I expected some real Kalijah scenes. Don't get me wrong I loved it when Katherine saw Elijah - she was so happy and it looked like she really loved him, he was hers one and only. But I wanted more. I mean Elijah loved her so why wasn't he there to see her and say goodbye. _**  
**_Klaroline scene - I loved! I was so happy they finally happened. But when I read that Julie Plec said it was their closure I was like "What? Are you efin kidding me?" _**

**_What did you guys think about this episode?_**

* * *

** Guest - Thanks for reading my story. I am so happy you loved it. I try to do my best writing it so you can all enjoy while reading it. **

**I apologize for any mistakes.**

**Reviews are always welcomed. If you have any questions about the story don't be afraid to ask I'll try my best to answer.**

**Love you all. See you with the next chapter :)**


	6. Chapter 6 Discovery

**So this is it. Chapter 6. The longest I've written so far. I took me a while to write it because I had re-written some parts of this chapter many, many times. I am actually quite proud of this chapter so I hope you enjoy it.**

**I know that things seem a little slow but every time I want to move on with the plot there are some things that seem important to me and I have to include them in the story. Please be patient with me :)**

**One more thing: The events in this chapter aren't paralel and do not happen in the same timeline. I put them together because I didn't want to break this chapter into two parts.**

**Ok I'm done with long introduction. Enjoy :)**

* * *

**Chapter 6. **

**Discovery**

Since Rebekah left few days ago it was only up to Elijah to keep an eye on Hayley. Maybe that was for the best since his sister was not very fond of their guest. She seemed to dislike Hayley more than she despised Katherine. At least he will now be sure that everything is in order. After all if you want things done properly you should take care of them yourself. And because Klaus was busy with his own plans, he had time for that now.

He got to the apartment she was currently occupying to check has she was feeling. He politely knocked on the door but no one answered. He knocked again. Lauder this time. Still, nothing happened. No one answered the door.

Elijah was worried. What if something has happened to her and the baby?

He took his spare key, opened the door and got inside - vampire speed. He checked all rooms, even the bathroom but she was nowhere to be found. Where would she go? He specifically told her she should stay inside or otherwise use the vampires he compelled for her, or call him if she ever needed something.

He went out to the apartment located next door where his vampires where staying. The oldest Original wanted to see if vampire-guardians had any idea what was going on.

Elijah went in without any warning and saw two vampires sitting in armchairs drinking blood from glasses. Technically they weren't doing anything wrong but he was angry at Hayley disappearance and he focused his anger towards them.

"Is that how you perform your duties?" his face expression stone cold. "Where is Hayley? You both were suppose to keep an eye on her 24/7 and what are you doing?"

"Yyyyy... She was in her apartment a while ago. We didn't hear her leave. She is suppose to be in there..." One of them eventually replied but he was genuinely surprised by the girl's absence.

"There is no way she would leave without us hearing her. It's not possible." The other vampire interrupted.

"Apparently she _did_ find a way." Elijah was not screaming, his voice was calm which made two vampires even more scared. By now they knew that Elijah was the reserved one of The Original Family. He was always cool-headed, not easy to fluster. But somehow it made Elijah even more dangerous than Klaus. Because you never knew when he was going to strike.

Elijah came closer to the both of them.

"One of you is going to stay here and notify me when she's returned and the other one will go out into town and will search for her until she's found." He made his way out of the apartment. Then he suddenly stopped turned around and added. "I suggest you try really hard because there will be only one winner in this game. Which one of you sees her first gets to keep his life." After that he stormed out of the building.

Elijah decided that the best way to find Hayley is to look for her himself. He didn't know what to think. Was she taken against her will or has she just left her apartment of her own volition. Was she in danger? He promised her that nothing bad will happen to her. And if she left the apartment on her own, why would she do that? If she needed anything she could have called him.

First thing to do was to call Hayley. Turning around the corner and taking his phone out from his suit pants' pocket he bumped into someone. It took him a second to realize that it was the girl he was looking for.

He grabbed her by her arm so she wouldn't fall on her behind.

"Hayley?" she looked a little disoriented. "What are you doing out here? You were suppose to stay inside you apartment."

"Elijah..." she stuttered. She seemed like she was surprised to see him. "I just went out." She finally answered. "I had to get some fresh air. You know you can't expect me to stay home all the time like some prisoner." Her voice became accusatory.

Elijah let go of her arm when he realized he was still holding her after she was clearly no longer going to fall. "You should have called me. It's not save for you to roam around by yourself."

"I didn't want to bother you. I told you earlier I can take care of myself." Her voice was soft again she was no longer accusing him. Trying to be charming she continued her speech. "Besides I just went for a little walk. I wasn't going anywhere to far away. I was gone maybe like 15 minutes. And I was very careful." She put on her nr 5 smile.

"Let me walk you home then." He turned around and they made their way back to the building.

There was something that's been bothering The Original. After they both reach the building door and walked upstairs Elijah finally asked her. "Hayley why haven't you inform your gourds that you were leaving? They said they didn't hear you leave."

Slight shock appeared on her face. "I don't know." She tried to smile "Maybe they were distracted with something. I know they like to watch TV. I can hear it trough the wall. Maybe that was it." She reached her door. " I told you Elijah, I don't need them. And now you see they useless." She went inside waiting for him to follow her. "Aren't you coming in?" She asked.

"No. Not tonight." He replied politely. "I have something to do tonight. Have a good night Hayley."

"Night Elijah." She rapidly closed the door.

Elijah made his way to the other apartment once again. The vampire that was sitting on the couch didn't even know what hit him. Elijah grabbed him by the throat while his right hand tore out vampire's heart. He didn't even said the word. It all happened so fast.

Elijah didn't care about the body. He will sent someone to take care of it later. He closed the door behind him and went out of the building.

I was time to find the other vampire.

It took Elijah about twenty minutes to find the guy. He was strolling in some back alley apparently still looking for Hayley.

As Elijah approached him, the vampire tried to run. He must have suspected that something was wrong and Elijah wasn't here with peaceful intentions. But there was no real chance of him escaping The Original. Once Elijah grabbed him he started pleading for his life.

"Answer my questions and maybe I'll let you live."

"Of course. I'll tell everything." Fear made it hard for the guy to speak.

"What were you watching while you were suppose to keep an eye on Hayley?" Elijah's voice ice cold.

"I don't understand. We've never even turned on the TV not once I swear."

"The truth! I've heard otherwise."

"That's the truth I swear please we would never disobey your orders like that. Elijah, please."

"Fine" Elijah spoke. The sign of relief appeared on the vampire's face. But not for long. Elijah ripped his heart out of his chest and dump the body into the trash container. It took him only a second and it looked like he did not even break a sweat.

It was done. Elijah straighten his suit realizing he will probably have to throw it away anyway. It was a good suit. _Tom Ford. _He liked that suit.

He headed home not sure what to think of tonight's events. He had a slight suspicion that Hayley wasn't exactly honest with him. He decided to watch her for the next few days. Maybe he will learn something. And if he is wrong and there is nothing going on at least he will be sure she is safe.

* * *

"Are you ok?" Caroline asked Katherine. They were both sitting in the backseat still an hour away from their place of destination.

The journey was long and it required different means of transportation. At first they drove their car then they took the train another train and now they were driving car again. Caroline was grateful to Katherine because during their trip, which became a little boring after all that driving, they took half-a-day break to see Vienna. Since Katherine had a good day - she was filling better and wasn't tired like she was last few days - and they had one day advantage over the witches that Irina was bringing, they were able to do a little sightseeing.

"I am fine. How many times will you ask me that?" Now after they were almost there Caroline couldn't help but to feel a little guilty that while Kat was dying she enjoyed the break they had in Austria. She was worried about Katherine. She was beginning to like the girl. During the trip she grew attached to all three girls. She even thought that under different circumstances she and Nadia could become close friends.

Nadia was very strong and resourceful woman. She took after her mother. She even saw to Caroline's feeding problem by stealing some blood bags and portable minifridge. She could be nice at times. Still dangerous but not as bitchy as her mother.

Maybe it was because they were together all the time and the situation was extreme but Caroline somehow didn't care about the past at this time. During their time together both Kat and Nadia became a part of her life.

"Are you sure?" Caroline asked once more. She wanted Kat to be ok.

"You are irritating, you know that?" Katherine couldn't help but to make a little fun of the blonde.

The journey was very tiring. There were good moments and moments where she felt so tired she just wanted to sleep all day. Katherine hoped that everything will work itself out because she had no idea how much time she had left.

It was nice spending some time to know Nadia. She listened to the stories how her daughter have survived over the centuries and how she learned that Katherine was her biological mother. Katherine realized how she and Nadia were similar. She was determined and persistent. Just like Katherine.

"So Irina will meet us at the cemetery?" Katherine asked Anja. She broke the silence after long period of time they drove without speaking to each other. Neither of them was up Idle chit chat. At first Caroline tired to engage Anja or Nadia in a conversation but after some time even she got bored.

"Yes. They all will be there." Anja responded. She was currently driving. She and Nadia decided to share the driver's seat. Nadia wanted to drive all the way but Anja liked to drive and she apparently had also some control issues. The girl felt uncomfortable when she wasn't driving so Nadia eventually gave in. Caroline finally met her match. Two control freaks in one car.

"And she convinced other four witches to help us?" Katherine turned on her sarcastic mode. "I'm sure there will be a price to pay."

"That is possible." Anja didn't want to get into details, yet she seemed sure the witches were willing to cooperate. "Why will discuss it when we get there." And with these words conversation was over.

* * *

For a last few days Klaus was considering all the things he learned so far.

Marcel was reserved towards Klaus but that was understandable, yet having Tyler by his side and powerful witch as one of his closest friends was for Klaus unsettling. Also Rebekah - after ignoring him for a few days - sent him a vague massage that she was not able to learn much yet.

It was time to consult with his brother. Maybe Elijah will be able to shed some light on this problem.

"Elijah!" Klaus shouted knowing his brother is somewhere upstairs. "Could you join me in a study? We have some things to discuss?"

It was a while before Elijah came down.

"What is it brother?" he said while walking into the room. He took his time approaching his brother and sat down in an armchair. "What do you want to talk about?"

"There is something that's been bothering me for quite some time."

"What is it?" Elijah wanted to add _this time_ but stopped himself. After thousand years of escaping his enemies while trying to stay alive made his brother _a little _paranoid.

"It's about Marcel... there is just something not entirely right about his behavior towards me." Klaus revealed his concerns.

"What do you mean?" Elijah was confused.

"He moved his witch to the more secure location, he's keeping his crew on a very tight leash and there is also the Tyler's issue." Klaus wasn't looking at Elijah. They were talking but it was like if his sight was unfocused. In his had he was still looking for the answer. He was trying to put the pieces together and figure out what it is that really bothered him. He had no real proof. Just suspicions and this feeling in his gut that something is wrong.

"Why has Marcel been keeping Tyler alongside him for this long? Tyler threatened me with his vengeance yet he did nothing so far. And him being within Marcel's circle would suggest they are planning something." He finally looked at Elijah. "Have you noticed something out of place, brother? Perhaps something suspicious caught your eye?"

Elijah did not respond. He was confused and one thought came to mind - Hayley. Her behavior was somewhat out of place but was it suspicious? And most importantly was it connected to Klaus' problems? Was it important _enough _to mention it to him?

All these thoughts running through his mind. The Oldest Mikaelson faced a dilemma: tell Niklaus about Hayley's behavior when he could be wrong about her doings or dissemble the truth risking she could be somehow entangled in conspiring against his brother?

"Elijah?" Klaus have noticed Elijah's hesitation. "Is there something?"

"No..." Elijah started denying but Klaus knew better.

"Don't lie to me brother." Klaus' expression neither angry nor irritated. He had a smirk on his face like he was glad he caught his brother trying to play him. "I know you too well. You know something or you've seen something."

"Niklaus, I believe it is not connected to your case."

"Spit it out Elijah." Klaus demanded.

"It might be nothing... " Elijah was still reluctant but there was no way out of this situation. His brother noticed his hesitation even if it lasted only a second. Klaus won't give up now.

"Why won't you let me judge if it's significant, will you?"

"As you wish." Elijah took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I have discovered that Hayley left her apartment several times in a last few night without informing anyone, when I specifically told her I would accompany her when she wants to go outside." Then he quickly added. "I told her I was necessary for her protection. But I don't see how she would fit in to your _Marcel_ situation." He finally stated.

Klaus laugh for a moment but hasn't said anything at first. He was just looking at his brother with pity.

"You're a fool, brother." He laughed again. "You allow yourself to be so easily manipulated by women." He poured himself a drink and went back to his seat while continuing his speech. "Do you really thing she is _that_ innocent, Elijah? Then perhaps you were not aware she was the one helping Tyler kill all my hybrids. She also helped this Shane-guy get to Silas."

Klaus carefully observed his brother's reaction to his word. He was glad to see that shadow of a doubt appeared on Elijah's face. His brother was smart but he could be easily influenced by a pretty face.

"Let's not forget she even betrayed _your beloved _Katerina while pretending to be helping her get the cure."

"How do you know that Niklaus?" Elijah couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hayley knew Tyler? And she conspired against his brother with him? They spent time together, yet Hayley never told him she was friends with his brother's hybrid or that she knew Katerina. "How do you know all this- what you're telling me, is the truth?"

"Caroline told me once when she was trying to save Tyler's life. She confessed to me Tyler was somewhat manipulated by _her."_

"Miss Forbes might have lied to you to save her partner."

"Trust me she wasn't lying. I would have known if she did." He knew Caroline to well to doubt that she was lying. She was very bad at that. Her honest personality prevented her from making a good lie because she couldn't believe in a lie she was telling. He could read her like a book and that's what he enjoyed about her.

Elijah let the truth sink within him. Was it really possible that Hayley was now part of a Marcel's plan? "What are you planning to do now?" He finally asked his brother.

"We still don't know if she is _in fact_ a part of Marcel's plan against me. That is why we have to observe her more closely. And if we learn she is working for him... Well then we will have to partake necessary steps." Devilish expression filled his eyes.

"You are not planning to kill her brother..." It was neither question nor an order.

"Of course not. I am not a fool. She is carrying my child so she is safe. For now..." Klaus left the room leaving his brother to deal with what he has told him.

* * *

When they reached their destination it was late afternoon. The witches were already there, prepared for the ritual.

"Stay here with Caroline, Katherine. Anja and I will take care of the deal with witches and prepare everything. You can come when it's all ready." Katherine knew Nadia was trying to protect her. Normally she wouldn't go for it, she didn't trust those witches - she didn't know them - and she didn't like when people made decisions concerning her behind her back, but this time she was tired and she was glad she had someone she could trust. Someone that could help her not because they need something from her but because someone cared for her.

Nadia and Anja left heading towards the witches.

Katherine and Caroline stayed near the car awaiting for a signal.

"Are you nervous?" Caroline once again tried to engage Katherine in a conversation. Somehow she seemed more anxious than Katherine.

"No. I am not."

"You don't have to pretend to be badass all the time, you know." Caroline gave her a warm smile. "It's ok to be scared from time to time. I doesn't mean you are weak."

"Oh. Really? You are starting to be annoying and that is not a faltering feature in a woman, Caroline." Katherine snapped at her companion. She didn't want to but Blonde was becoming really annoying. It wasn't even Caroline's fault. She tried to help but had no idea how and that made her frustrated. "What does Klaus think of your irritating side? Or has he not seen it yet?" She finished with a smirk.

"You know what?" Now Caroline was shouting. Katherine just crossed a line. "Fuck you! I just wanted to be nice and supporting but evidently you just can't stop being a bitch. Even death can't make you change. No wonder Elijah left you. Nadia probably would..." Caroline stopped her rant she said few words too many. Katherine looked stunned. She wasn't crying because she was too tough for that. But it was obvious Caroline words cut like knives.

"I am sorry..." surprisingly it was Katherine to apologize. "I shouldn't have said that. You are just trying to help. Even though we are not friends you seemed to care about what is happening." Katherine approached Caroline. "You just have to know that... well every time you ask me if I am ok I just don't know what to say. I don't know what will happen and that..."

Caroline interrupted her.

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean that. And when you become vampire again I will help you with mission 'Have Elijah back'. What do you think? Truce?"

"Truce." Kat responded after a while. "Mission get Elijah back, huh?" Now they both were laughing. They couldn't stop. Like it was something really hilarious. They both didn't even notice Nadia approaching.

"What's so funny?" Nadia asked.

Caroline looked at her "We will get your daddy back." She joked. And they laugh even harder.

"What?" Nadia didn't get the joke. "Better stop smiling and follow me. It's all ready." She waved at them to follow her. "Chop-chop we don't have all day."

"I see you both are bonding. That's nice." Nadia said to Caroline when they followed Katherine as she went towards the witches. "So you best friends now?" She joked.

"I wouldn't go that far. But it's definitely something."

* * *

"Withes are ready. Are you Katherine?" After Katherine asked Anja to stop calling her _Katerina_ she obliged and was now using her vampire name.

"Let's get on with the show." Kat responded.

There was a pentagram formed on the ground with five torches, one at each node of the star. The witches took their positions behind the torches. Katherine was suppose to place herself in the middle.

Anja faced Katherine sat on the ground so they can see each other perfectly, but she stayed outside of the pentagram.

"The witches will summon Francesca." She explained. "When she appears she will see you but you will not be able to see her. That's where I come in. I will be a link between you and her. I will repeat her words to you so you two can have a conversation." She continued "First I will explain her why we're here and then it will be up to you to convince her to help you. Can we start now?"

"Da." Irina said. Katherine nodded.

Witches joined their hands and started their enchantment. They were repeating the spell in latin time after time after time. At first nothing happen. But then, after sun set, the wild wind blew. Suddenly it became very cold and the fog appeared.

Katherine was disoriented, but Anja remained calm. She was looking at Katherine at first but then focused her sight on something else. Something that was located within the pentagram right next to Katherine.

Katherine saw her speaking to someone but she was so confused she couldn't hear the words. She felt like the world and the people next to her were moving in a slow motion. Like she was a spectator in some weird play.

"_Katherine?_ Katherine!" she was brought back to reality by Anja's voice. "Katherine, Francesca is now ready to talk to you but you have to hurry."

_What? Now?_ Katherine wasn't ready. She prepared all this speech how she deserves a second chance but her mind was empty now. And how is she suppose to convince a girl she can't even see. She panicked. _Think, Katherine, think. After all you are Katherine Pierce, The Survivor. _

"She's on your right." Anja pointed in the right direction.

"Francesca..." she hasitated. "I know I am no saint. And I did horrible things in my life. But all I did was to survive, to get away from a psycho-vampire who killed my family and did swear to kill me. It might not justify my actions but I was afraid and it seemed like only thing to do at the time. And now if you can help me I can have a second chance for a different life."

She awaited response.

She heard Anja relay Francesca's answer. "Francesca says that you're family and she is sorry about what happened to you but you had 500 years to change your life and to create your second chance. People don't usually have opportunity to live as long as you did and cheat death as many times as you did."

"Yes that is true. But they also are not chased by immortal killer who has vendetta against them. I was only a teenager, alone in a foreign country, when I found out his intentions towards me. I was lost." Katherine tried to explain her motivations.

"But Klaus is still alive and still after you..."

"Yes that is true. But it's different now. Now I have people who care about me enough to fight for me. I have my daughter now." And then, in this moment she had an epiphany. Something that Anja said about the barrier between worlds in afterlife. "You will be able to see your daughter too. You will be able to meet her and be with her in the afterlife. You wouldn't have to be alone anymore." And with that words Katherine waited. It was all or nothing.

Katherine wasn't sure if it worked. But then she heard Anja once again. "Katherine, please turn to your right, close your eyes and focus."

She did what she was asked to do. She heard the witches chanting again. This time lauder. She was cold. Even more than in the beginning. Shivers run through her whole body. She was trembling. And then there was this pain. Excruciating, unbearable pain. She heard someone screaming. The voice made her ears hurt. It took her a while to realize that she was the one screaming.

And then the pain was gone. The cold was gone. And it seemed like world was at peace again. She opened her eyes and saw that everyone was staring at her.

"Nam udalos" Irina said they were successful.

"It worked?" Katherine asked while she tried to get up. She saw Anja nod. She couldn't believe. _It really worked._

She wanted to scream and jump but she was to weak. She decided to hug Nadia instead. She saw her daughter approaching her so she started walking in Nadia's direction. She took a few steps but suddenly she was dizzy. The whole world began spinning around her. She felt the earth moving underneath her feet.

Katherine fell down on the ground. Unconscious.

* * *

_Something was definitely not right. She had no idea where she was or what was happening to her. She was lying on the ground and couldn't move a muscle. And it was so dark. She couldn't see anything._

_"Katerina." She heard a voice but had no idea to whom it belonged. _

_"Whose there?" she asked. Still disoriented and still not able to move._

_"Katerina." The voice called once more. _

_Finally Katherine notice a blurry silhouette. It was a young woman. She had chestnut curly hair that were tied on one side of her head and cascaded down her right arm. She wore a white nightgown but it was heavily stained with... blood._

_"Who are you?"_

_"No time for that." The girl said. "You are all in danger Katerina. Something is coming for him and it will destroy you all."_

_"I don't get it. What's going on?" _

_"I can see it now because of you. You have to stop it."_

_And now it hit her. "Francesca?" Katherine asked._

_The girl nodded. She was trying to get close to Katherine. To reach her. But she was stopped. Something was holding her back. The last word she spoke was barely_ _hearable._

_"Banshee..."_

_Katherine tried to memorize the word. Then it all went black. _

* * *

Songs for this chapter :

The Devil Within by Digital Daggers

Zombie by The Cranberries

* * *

**As always thank you so much to every one of you who read, followed, favorited and reviewed. **

**If you enjoy it - it makes me happy :)**

* * *

**gothicpoet0615 - Thank you for reading and reviewing this story. I am glad you like it. **

**I apologize for any mistakes. **

**Reviews are always welcomed. **

**See you next time guys :)**


	7. Chapter 7 Returns

**Hi guys! **

**I have few announcements before I upload the story. :P**

**1) I'll be starting full time job now and I also start german courses for my job so I'll be pretty busy. And I want to apologize because it will take me more time to post new chapters. :( I am sorry but I promise I'll try my best. **

**2) In the meantime, when you wait for the next chapter of this story, you can check out the preview for my other Kalijah fanfiction that I posted. Just go to my profile page - it's called 'Will my love bring you up?' Like I said it's a preview so it's a little short and whether I continue writing it depends on the reception of that story. So if many of you guys like it I will love to write more of it for you. **

**3) This chapter is kind of a filler - again sorry for that - but I still hope it keeps you interested.**

**Ok I'm done now. So you can finally move on to reading Chapter 7.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

**Chapter 7.**

**Returns**

"Katherine!" Nadia run towards Katherine afraid that the worst has happened. "Katherine!" She garbed her unconscious body that lied on the ground. Anja and Caroline followed.

"Is she...?" Caroline asked terrified. She stood next to Nadia, who was holding Katherine in her arms.

"She's alive." Nadia answered. With a sign of relieve. But her mother losing her consciousness was not a good sing.

"What do we do now?" the blonde asked again.

Nadia was about to say something, when she was interrupted by Anja.

"I think we should take her to the hospital." She directed her words to Katherine's daughter. "You can compel doctors to have her checked-up for her safety. She's human now after all."

Nadia looked at Anja like there was a second head attached to her shoulders. "Are you out of your mind?" She was outraged. "She has little time left and you want to drag her to a hospital, instead of taking her straight home when she can be turned again."

It was Caroline who eased the situation. She finally stopped panicking and started to think clearly. Her brain went into overdrive. She looked at Nadia while trying to calm her down.

"Anja is right." She started slowly. "If Katherine won't wake up, we can't take her on a plane. We don't know what it will do to her. If she regains her consciousness, we will take the first flight home. And I will call Klaus as soon as we'll get there. But she has to wake up first, so we know she can handle the rigors of air travel."

Nadia kept silent, while she was considering Caroline's arguments. _Maybe she was right._ Words came to Nadia's mind. Maybe she was to involve in the situation to think clearly in this moment. But she desperately wanted her mother to live.

Her eyes went from Caroline to Katherine and then back to blond vampire. She nodded. "So what do you suggest we do now?"

"Let's take her carefully do the car and lie her down in the back sit with her legs slightly elevated. I think, I've heard once you're suppose to do that when someone faints. Maybe it will help." Anja spoke while she kneeled beside Katherine. She was now face-to-face with Nadia.

"She didn't faint. She lost her consciousness. She could have even suffered a concussion. We don't know what's wrong with her, apart from the fact she's still breathing." Nadia spatted.

"That is precisely why we should listen to Anja." Caroline interposed. Trying to convince Nadia they should act quickly.

"Fine." Nadia finally said. Then she faced Anja and directed her following words towards the human. "Anja. Take the keys." She gave them away. "And go open the car. Caroline and I will gently carry Katherine and we'll put her in the backseat like you said."

Anja didn't waste any second. She took car keys from Nadia and run in the direction that their car was parked.

"Caroline would you grab her legs while I carry her upper body?" Nadia asked after Anja was gone.

"Sure." She replied while lowering herself and adjusted her position to lift Katherine.

"Ready?" Caroline nodded and the both simultaneously picked up Kath unconscious flesh.

Even though they were vampires, they took their time while transferring the doppelganger. Taking careful steps - not to drop her - they crossed meter by meter. When they finally reached the vehicle, Anja was waiting for them - door open, engine on.

Caroline and Nadia laid her down gently in the backseat, leaving just enough space for Nadia to sit next to her and keep an eye on her, if anything goes wrong. Caroline took the passenger seat this time and Anja placed herself in a driver's seat.

As soon as the last door closed, they were ready to hit the road in search of nearest hospital.

* * *

When the four of them were driving - looking for a hospital - Katherine finally regained her consciousness. She was pale and looked weak. Her eyes unfocused and blurry. But that didn't matter, because she was awake.

Katherine seemed to be disoriented at first. When she woke up, she couldn't remember what happened to her or even what was going on. She look around turning her head slowly, focusing her sight first on Nadia then on the remaining surroundings. Yet she had no idea how did she end up in the car.

"Katherine are you ok?" Nadia's voice brought her back. She had noticed her daughter and Caroline staring at her.

"I am fine, I'm fine..." She repeated not even sure, if what she was telling them was true. But she couldn't focus. She couldn't gather her thoughts. Her mind was heavy. "What is going on? Where am I?" She asked after some time has passed.

"You collapsed after the spell. You were unconscious for a while so we took you to the car..." Nadia started to explain.

"We're looking for a hospital now to check if everything's ok with you." Caroline interrupted. Her head still turned back to look at Katherine.

"I don't need to go to hospital. I'm fine!" She objected. There was no reason to get her checked up. She was feeling good now. There was no time for that.

Katherine didn't want to waste any time looking for a hospital, because she knew there were more important things to do. She knew that she was suppose to do something but she couldn't figure out what it was. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, so it would be easier to remember what that was.

_Focus Katherine. _She told herself.

The last thing she recalled were witches chanting around her. She was sitting on the ground and she remembered she was really cold. Then someone said the spell worked, so she got up to hug Nadia. She was so happy and couldn't believe it actually worked out for her. And then... All she remembers is a blur. Darkness.

_Think._

Why couldn't she remember? It was like there was a wall inside her head, blocking her from seeing things. She knew they were there but she...

"Aaaaaaaauu!" Suddenly she screamed. This huge pain began pounding in her head.

"Katherine!"

"Are you ok?"

"What's happening?"

She heard the voices around her but didn't bother concentrating on them and answering the questions. The strain of images run through her head, it was painful but she finally could see... something. She closed her eyes.

She remembered the darkness and the soft voice talking to her.

_"You are all in danger Katerina. Something is coming for him and it will destroy you all." _She heard this voice in her head. Now she was in even greater pain. She grabbed something, she didn't know what, and squeezed so the pain would somehow become bearable.

_"... You have to stop it." _Another flashback. Even more pain.

She screamed again and was breathing heavily.

_"Banshee..." _At last Katherine remembered. Francesca told her it was important.

The pain was no longer there and her breathing had stabilized. Katherine slowly opened her eyes.

While looking around, Katherine realized Anja wasn't driving anymore. She must have stopped the car on the side of the road while she was having her attack. All three ladies where now looking at her terrified. Panic filled their eyes but everyone kept silent. And it took a while for Katherine to realize they are waiting for her to speak.

"It's fine now." She tried to convince them because there were more pressing issues to discuss. "It's not important now. I just remembered something crucial that might involve us."

"What could be more important than you staying alive?" Nadia couldn't hold her anger back.

"All of us staying alive." Katherine responded. Even though she wasn't joking others were looking at her like what she said was pure gibberish. So she decided to elaborate. "While I was out of it, after the ritual, I saw something... Well that is not exactly true. I saw someone." She stopped because when she started to say is out laud, she could hear how ridiculously she sounded. Maybe what she saw was a delusion - not a real thing.

But it was too late to stop now. Her companions were waiting with anticipation for her next words.

"I saw Francesca. She appeared to me. She wanted to tell me something, insisting it was important and can affect all of us. She told me that something is coming and unless we stop it, we are all in danger."

No one said anything.

"I know it sound silly and... " she couldn't find a right word. "...vague."

"More like farfetched and absurd." Nadia commented. "Katherine you fell and it's quite probable you hit your had and imagined all this... " she turned to Caroline then. "You were right we should take her to hospital to check, if she is ok and then we fly back home straight away."

Katherine couldn't believe she was ignored. And by her daughter. She new Caroline could have said something like that, but Nadia? Shouldn't it be Nadia, who was suppose to be on her side. Believe her. Help her. Yet it was Nadia who acted like a parent. Even though Nadia was her daughter, she treated her like she was disabled, like she was a child.

"Really?" Kath was furious. "I know what I saw!"

Caroline must have seen Katherine's expression, because she was talking to her now. "We should take you there. Nadia is just worried. You didn't see how terrifying it looked while you fell. Nadia was devastated."

"Caroline, Katherine doesn't need to hear it." Nadia opposed. She was just going to order Anja to start driving to finally look for the hospital when Katherine spoke again.

"Banshee." She mumbled under her nose.

"What did you say?!" She suddenly heard Anja's voice full of panic.

"A banshee." Katherine repeated lauder.

"What's the big deal?" Nadia asked confused. She heard about banshee's before but it was a legend. Pure fiction. "It's just a legend."

"It's not just a legend!" Anja was irritated. "You supernatural creatures are so ignorant. There are other things out there. Just because they are rare, doesn't mean they don't exist. You exist, don't you? And people think _you_ are _just a legend!_" She stopped shouting now but was even more serious than before. "If Katherine heard Francesca right. And if, what Francesca saw or heard was true, you are in some really deep shit. If Banshee was sent for you, there is not much you can do to stop it."

Now everyone was serious.

"But we have to do something." Katherine said. "And you know what to do?" She said asking but it wasn't entirely a question.

It was Caroline who made a final decision. "We're going back. Katherine has to become a vampire quickly, we have a little time left. We can figure out the details in the meantime." She turned to face Anja now. "And you are going with us. You will not go home now - we will be needing you."

They made their way straight to the airport.

* * *

Rebekah was almost back in Mystic Falls. There was only few miles left, until she reach the town's limits. All time, during her way back, she was trying to figure out what she's suppose to do now. Yet she still had no idea.

Stefan was suppose to be in Mystic Falls but she didn't know where to start looking. She thought about her meeting with Sarah once again.

###

_"Your friend" Sarah spoke. Her eyes was now closed and she had trouble breathing. "He is in a dark, small space." She paused to catch a breath. "There's water. Water everywhere. He's drowning. Time after time he's dying."_

_"He needs you to get him out- " that was all. Her vision ended._

_Sarah opened her eyes. She was breathing a little faster than usual but despite that she seemed fine._

_"How will I find him?" Rebekah finally asked._

_"You will know where to look. You need to go now. It is important."_

###

How was she suppose to know where to look? She wasn't even here when Stefan was missing. She wasn't here at all. First she was in Europe with Matthew and later in NOLA with her brothers. She was in the dark about everything that was happening here.

The one who could know anything, was Matt but Rebekah didn't want to involve him _again_. He would hate to see her _again_. She was sure of that. Yet it seem like she had no one else to help her.

_Will he help again? _She thought.

She took her phone out and decided to call him before she changes her mind.

"Hello? Rebekah?" He picked up after third ring. "Have you found Stefan yet?"

"Not exactly. That's why I'm calling you." She started. "I need you assistance... again. Can we meet."

There was a silence for a while on the other side but he finally responded. "You can come by to the Grill, we can talk there after my shift ends." He wasn't very happy about it. She could tell.

"I'll be there" She said and then Matt hang up the phone.

"To the grill then!" Rebekah said to herself. She wanted to find Stefan but she was getting tired of making errands for others, especially her brother.

* * *

Rebekah was having her third martini when Matt finally joined her in the booth. She took one more sip and went straight to business, knowing he would be expecting that.

She told him every detail of her encounter with little Sarah. How Stefan is somewhere in Mystic Falls. How he is supposedly drowning. The whole time she was talking, he didn't say a single word. He just looked at her and nodded from time to time. After she finished Rebekah asked him about his opinion but he offered none.

Instead he took his phone and went out.

Rebekah didn't know what to think about his behavior but did not follow him. She drank the rest of her martini and waited.

There had to be reason for him to leave. And he will come back. Matt might be many things but he was never rude.

He came back few minutes later.

"What was that?" Rebekah asked a little irritated.

"What?" He asked like her question was unjustified.

"You just left and didn't say anything." She accused him in disbelieve. She knew he had every right to be mad at her but he was not like that. He was never mean to hurt someone. Did she really hurt him that much? She didn't mean it but maybe she did. Unintentionally.

"I wasn't the only one." He stated. It wasn't an accusation just an observation. She did not respond to that. She just looked at the empty glass in her hand and played with it for a while. She couldn't face him.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. He was still mad at her. Angry. Disappointed with her. Rebekah knew there was absolutely _zero_ chances of them getting back together but she hoped they could still be friends. Apparently it was too soon.

"I talked to Damon." He was the one to break the silence between them. "He told me where we can start our search. I also told him to come right back."

Matt repeated Rebekah all Damon said to him. They talked everything over and made a step by step plan how to find Stefan. Matt suggested they ask Sheriff Forbes for help. The Blonde Original was not convinced about it but they needed all the help they could get, if Stefan was really in the place Damon described.

After they were finished. She grabbed her bag and they left The Grill to put their plan in motion.

* * *

Rebekah was watching the men, that sheriff Forbes sent, as they were trying to tow the safe Damon described to the shore.

Yesterday when she and Matt were trying to convince Caroline's mother to help she wasn't very cooperative. She said she had no resources to search the entire lake. But after few mentions from Matt, that it's Stefan and his hurting and he would definitely do this for them if the roles were reversed, she finally caved in.

The Original Sister was surprised sheriff organized the search so quickly. The men showed up at dawn and now a little more than five hours later the safe was brought to the shore. After everything was done, she compelled them to forget and sail away.

She asked Matt to stay at Salvatores' and get everything ready. They didn't know what state will Stefan be in, when they let him out.

She turned the handle around and opened the safe door.

In an instant she was thrown to the nearest tree. Attacked by a madmen. It wasn't Stefan, at least not anymore. _He flipped the switch._ It came to Bekah's mind. _Again._

He was trying to fight her and feed on her but he wasn't strong enough to hurt her. He hasn't fed for many months. After she realized what he was trying to do, she threw him on the ground. With vampire speed she reached him and snapped his neck, making him unconscious.

She took her phone out and called Matt.

"I've got Stefan. But he's in really bad shape. Is everything ready?" Rebekah heard him confirm so she continued. "How about Damon - Is he coming?"

_"He's on his way. He says he'll be here in an hour or so."_ He replied.

"Stefan's in unconscious now, so I'll put him in a car and be right there. Prepare the blood." She ended the conversation. Grabbing Stefan by his hands she pulled him to the vehicle.

* * *

When Stefan finally woke up Damon has already arrived. Rebekah explained him everything that has happened in details. He didn't took it well when she mentioned to Damon that his brother's humanity has been turned off.

Now they were both standing in the basement. Watching Stefan going on the rampage in the cell-room Rebekah locked him earlier. He was screaming, calling them names and threatening.

They were both worried about Stefan. But finally Rebekah dared to asked the question they all have been thinking of.

"Stefan if you were..." she tried to find a right word "trapped all this time. What happened with Silas?"

Stefan smirked at them and did not respond. Instead he continued to bang on the door. Trying to breach it, to get out of "imprisonment".

"Oh brother, be a dear and tell us what happened to Silas or we will leave you here to rot without any drop of blood." Damon threatened him, not giving in to his brother's ripper behavior.

"Oh I don't know what happened to him." He was very proud of himself. That he can torture them and make them scared even though he's locked up. "He said now that Katherine took _his_ cure he will have to find another way to die and this time he will not be so gentle. Oh... and there was also the thing he said - that we'll all be sorry and that we will all pay."

* * *

After their plane landed Caroline and other found themselves a car and made their way straight to Mystic Falls.

They were now chasing with time because Katherine health was deteriorating rapidly. She had maybe 48 hours left. Of course Kath being the proud and vain one didn't want to admit she was feeling weak. Even near death Katherine was _so_ stubborn.

While they were driving Caroline finally decided it was the time to call Klaus.

She felt weird calling him. Technically he said they were friends but then he left and she hasn't seen him all this time. She knew she told Katherine it will be easy to convince Klaus but now she wasn't so sure. He could say no. And what will she say "_Hi Klaus I need your blood. Could you FedEx it to me?" _or "_Klaus something happened, could you come to Mystic Falls?"_ She felt uncomfortable talking to _him_. She felt uncomfortable talking to him when all the passengers were listening on her conversation.

She took a deep breath and dialed his number.

_*One ring.*_

_Breathe Caroline, breathe. _She told herself.

_*Two rings.*_

_Breathe in, breathe out._

_*Three rings.*_

Nothing.

_*Four rings.*_

Still nothing.

_*Five rings*_

_Fuck. Pick up, pick up. _She begged him to answer. Leaving a message on the voicemail would be so much worse.

_*Voicemail*_

"Fuck!" she said. The she heard the _beep. _"Hi Klaus... its Caroline... " she had no idea what to say "something happened... and I need your help. Please call me back... ASAP." She hanged up.

"Well that was definitely awkward." She heard Katherine's comment.

_Great. Now what? _She thought ignoring Katherine's comment.

"Let's take Katherine to Salvatore's house. Damon and Elena are out. It should be empty and we'll have some peace there until we can work things out." She finally said to Nadia who was driving their car.

"You mean, when you can convince Klaus." Katherine was even more sarcastic now when she was closer to death, than she was when she was a vampire. Caroline decided not to respond to that. She thought about the way to make her plan work. To save Katherine's life.

* * *

Nadia parked the car in the Salvadore's driveway. There was other car there but it was definitely not Damon's. Where did it come from?

They came inside the house. Caroline first, Nadia who was helping Katherine followed, Anja was the last to enter.

As soon as Caroline entered the house, she realized how stupid idea this was. Not only was Damon home but he had a guest. Very blond, very Original guest. Rebekah was sitting right across Damon.

He spotted her then. "Blondie? What are you doing here?" He asked. As soon as he realized she wasn't alone he added. "What the fuck, Caroline?"

"Katherine." Rebekah noticed the company too. And she wasn't happy to see them.

"Damon there is a problem... a big one..." Caroline started but Damon immediately cut her off.

"Yeah there is." He said standing up. "My brother is ripper again and Silas has been on the loose this whole time. We thought Stefan locked him up but it was the other way around."

"I don't get it." Caroline said confused.

"Oh. You see Rebekah here found Stefan today. On the bottom of the lake. Where Silas was suppose to be locked up. But now it appears Silas locked Stefan in the safe instead and is out there seeking revenge because this one... " he pointed at Katherine "took his cure. And he's mad."

Katherine stood up straight. "If you don't remember Damon." She said and turned her 'bitch' mode on. "It was your _girlfriend_ who fed me the cure. I didn't want it."

"How convenient for you."

"Stop it!" Caroline silenced them both. Then she turned to Damon again "You say Silas has been free all along."

"Yes Blondie, he has."

"Can we sit and talk things over because we have some news too?" Caroline hoped he would agree to that. She had no idea what to do next.

"Fine. Let's all sit." He walked over to the liquor cabinet and pored himself a drink. "Anyone wants one?"

"I do." Rebekah accepted his offer.

While Caroline and other were making themselves comfortable on the sofa Rebekah turned to Caroline. "And who are your friends? Won't you introduce them?"

Caroline was ready to answer when Nadia interrupted her. "Oh Rebekah. Don't tell me you don't remember me now?"

Everyone was shocked to hear what Nadia said but foremost Rebekah. She looked at the vampire sitting before her for a second when it finally came to her. "Nadia?" She spoke.

Nadia smiled. "Finally. When was it?" She pretended to recall their meeting. "New York. 1915?"

"What are you doing here?" Bekah asked her. But it was Caroline who spilled the beans.

"She's Katherine's daughter."

Damon chocked on his drink while Rebekah processed her words. "I slept with Katherine's daughter?" The words came out of her mouth. She couldn't believe it.

"You did what?" Caroline was shocked now too. Nadia looked very proud of herself.

"You see Bekah." Katherine finally took part in the conversation. "You're not only Mikaelson that was charmed by Petrova." She was proud of herself too. Surprising Mikaelsons was hard yet she and Nadia still managed to do it.

"Can we go back to the point of this _lovely meeting_ now?" Damon was sick of this talk already.

"Yes. I second that." Rebekah agreed.

"Ok." Caroline responded.

She introduced Anja, told them general story of their journey and what they have learned. She neglected to mention them about Katherine's state and that she needs to be fed Klaus' blood. They didn't need to know everything. Rebekah told them her part of the story about finding Stefan. They all exchanged their observations.

Caroline finally let Katherine tell the details of the vision so they could put the pieces together.

"So you think 'this thing' is using Silas. First Silas locked Stefan up and now he we'll go after us. Killing us one by one." Damon was concerned.

"Not exactly." Anja answered. "It does not work like that. There would be no point in that. Banshee does not act by his own will and does not act on revenge." She was silent for a moment while she was trying to figure something out. "There has to be someone controlling it."

They were all trying to process the information. Let it all sink in when Anja spoke again.

"Oh my God I get it now." Anja stood up and started pacing across the room. "It's not about Stefan and Silas. I mean Silas can be involved but it's not about Stefan at all. We have been thinking about the wrong person all along. Think. Who is linked to all of you here... It's about your brother." She pointed to Rebekah. "It's so obvious now. If he is killed all of you die. The vampires he created. Francesca meant it literally. - _Something is coming for him and it will destroy you all" _She quoted what Katherine previously said. "It's not a general description of danger. It was pretty straight forward. How is it none of us have seen it before?"

Exactly how was it? They were all stunned.

"What are you saying?" Rebekah was still confused. All that story seemed a little unusual and unreal.

"Your brother can't be killed. So does Silas. The difference being Silas wants to die. It's balance. It makes perfect sense." Anja responded to Rebekah yet it seemed like she was speaking to herself more than to the Original Vampire.

Caroline used the situation to her advantage. It was a perfect opportunity to go to NOLA and ask Klaus for help. Now there was a leverage. The way to convince Klaus to help Katherine.

"So I guess we're going to New Orleans now." She said.

* * *

Songs for this chapter:

Hollow Talk by Choir of Young Believers

Running Up That Hill by Placebo

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**Thank you so much to every one of you who read, followed, favorited and reviewed.**

**Hope you liked this chapter.**

**I know this whole Banshee thing is still not clear but it will be I promise. There are some pieces that will come together finally. **

**Next chapter will reveal some more and there will also be some reunions in the next chapter. We will finally have some Klaroline scenes. Yes they will meet again after such a long time apart:P **

**I know some of you are waiting for Kalijah reunion but it will take some time. There is many things they have to figure out before it happens :)**

* * *

**Anna the Vampire Princess, Bella-swan11, Ellavm18 - Huge thanks for reading and reviewing my story. I'm happy you enjoyed it.**

**I apologize for any mistakes I wrote this chapter in a rush.**

**Reviews are always welcomed. Tell me if you seen any mistakes - it helps me learn :P**

_**See you next time Sweetie Pies xox**_

_**Love,**_

_**L.**_

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_*****Update made on 2014-03-10:**_

_**Content of this chapter has not been changed. I only corrected grammatical mistakes that I could find (probably not all of them). Don't worry new chapter will be uploaded tomorrow or on Wednesday. So yey!**_


	8. Chapter 8 Reunion, Part 1

**Hello guys:) **

**I know I promised to reveal the banshee thing in this chapter but I kinda went for a little bit of fluff (it will be revealed in Ch 9 or 10). As I promised there is Klaroline in this chapter - so yey! **

**While writing this chapter, I realized it became a little bigger than I expected it to be. So not to force you to wait for it even longer, I decided to split it in two. **

**So there you have it. We're in NOLA now :)**

* * *

**Chapter 8. **

**Reunion, Part 1**

"Nik" Rebekah shouted as soon as she opened the door to their New Orleans' mansion. "Come down I've got a surprise for you." She came through the door followed by her four travelling companions.

"I think we should go to the living room and have something to drink." She led the way.

"Nice place." Caroline stated as she was looking around the place. It wasn't as big as Mikealsons' Mystic Falls residence but it was still impressive.

"Take a sit." Rebekah pointed the sofa set in the middle of a room. "So a drink?" She asked pouring herself one.

"No thanks, Rebekah." Caroline responded seeing the others look a bit uncomfortable being in Hybrid's house. She felt quite uneasy herself to tell the truth. Of course she spent a lot of time with him during the last year or so, they even spend a lot of time being only by themselves. But this was different. In Mystic Falls she felt safe, at ease because it was her home. Spending time with Klaus there didn't seem so unnatural then. Granted he was _The Hybrid_ but with time she kind of got use to him and his presence everywhere. This was different. This was unknown territory, his territory. And it make her look at him at a new angle. She was nervous now. And she never was nervous with him. Even when he came into her bedroom the night of her birthday. She was a little scared but she wasn't nervous.

"What is it Bekah?" a voice with a british accent came from the hallway that interrupted Caroline's train of thoughts. His owner enter the room a second later.

Saying he was surprised was an understatement. He looked at Caroline then at his sister not even bothering with the rest of the company. He couldn't believe _his_ Caroline was standing in _his_ house. And she came with Rebekah?

"Caroline?" He said.

"Hi Klaus." She responded him with a warm smile.

Klaus was confused - happy to see her here, but definitely confused. He turned to his sister for an explanation. "What is going on Rebekah?"

"I brought you guests." She drank her drink and sat on the sofa. Smirk on her face as she saw her brother's disorientation.

"And what is Katherine doing here?" He asked angrily finally recognizing the rest of the company. Katherine didn't like it that she suddenly became center of his attention. Klaus always scared her, he was often unstable. Guess she should be thanking God she's still alive. She wanted to respond to his question but it was Caroline who cut her off.

"There is a thing we want to discuss with you?" She said to him still smiling. But there was also this look of determination in her eyes.

"And what might it be, love?" he made his way to the other side of the room so he could see her better during their conversation.

"An exchange." She said carefully. "We need your help and we have something that might help you."

"Really?" he was curious about what was it concerning this time. Mystic Falls gang always sent Caroline to sweet talk him into helping them or divert his attention from theirs actions. "And what it could possibly be that I would actually need from all of you?"

Caroline hesitated. She had to be very careful with her words now. Asking him for help was always the hardest part for her. He usually agreed but who's to say he won't change his mind this time around.

"Here's the thing." She paused not knowing where she went with the conversation. "We've recently had some problems" She stated vaguely. "While searching for the solution we've learned something that concerns you." _Well that wasn't at all suspicious._ She though.

"And to search for solution to _this_ problem of yours..." he was playing with her words. "You had to travel all the way to Europe?" He asked curiously.

"How did you...?" She was surprised he knew about her whereabouts. On the other hand what did she expect from him.

"I make it my business to know everything, _Caroline_." He said her name as if he was tasting its flavor.

"How convenient." She felt a little mad he was keeping an eye on her but didn't want to dig into this matter right now. "To get to the point." She continued her earlier thought. "There is someone trying to kill you."

He laughed.

Caroline couldn't believe he was laughing. "Sweetheart I have enemies all over the world. Someone is constantly trying to kill me."

"Yeah but not like this. They have a plan ready and its real." She tried to show him seriousness of their conversation.

He couldn't helped but to be intrigued. What was Caroline going to do this time?

"Listen to her Nik." It was first time their conversation was interrupted. "I think they are on to something real. And it fits with what I've learned so far."

"Hmm?" His sister seemed to think the case was serious. "And I assume you know this plan. And will tell me all about it when I agree to your terms?"

"Yes." Caroline hoped Klaus will agree to this. Katherine had maybe few days left and there was no time to look for another solution. And she looked weaker every day. "That is what we intent to do."

"So what would you want in return?"

It was now or never. "Your blood." Caroline blurred out.

Klaus was surprised that was what she asked for. Why would they need his blood? It had to be something bigger than a warewolf bite. If it was a simple bite he knew Caroline would have just called him and asked for help. And he would probably obliged. It had to be something different. He couldn't help but to think that _they_ are the one with a plan to kill him and need his blood order for it to succeed. And the _deal_ they have it's just an elaborate plan to trick him.

"Why?" He asked. "Why do you need my blood, love? You don't look like a warewolf bit you."

Caroline expected this. She was afraid she would have to give him the real reason. She knew he wouldn't believe her, if she said someone was bitten by a wolf again. She knew the risk. If she was to tell him Kat needs it to survive, he could say 'no' just to make her pay.

Katherine saw her hesitation. She realized Caroline had doubts about telling Klaus the truth and was not sure what to do next. Katherine realized there was no other way, so she decided to join the conversation.

"Well Caroline, we can just tell him. There is no reason to beat around the bush." She took a deep breath. "The blood is for me. I am dying and I need you blood to survive."

There was another laugh. This time lauder and more devilish.

"Well, well, well." Klaus couldn't hide his contentment. His usual smirk appeared on his face. "I did not expect that. So what happened, Katherine? Did you piss someone off one time to many?"

"Oh, you always think the worst of me, Klaus." One had to grand that to Katherine Pierce - she stayed fabulous and cocky despite how close to death or danger she found herself.

"There is no other way to think of you." He stated looking at her with despise.

"If you must know." She smiled. During their talk she regained her old confidence. At this point she had nothing to lose and she was not going to go down as a pathetic shadow of her old self. "I was force-fed the cure by my lovely doppelganger and unfortunately I am human now."

"I should have known." Klaus was not even hiding the sarcasm. "You look awful, sweetheart."

"Oh. Thank you for sugar coding it. You are a dear. As always." I was tit for tat. "But that is not all." She continued. "There is a bad side to taking the cure. Not only am I human but I am also dying."

"Well it appears it is a good day after all." Klaus though she got what she deserved. Dying human for the worst possible way for someone like her to die. He faced his sister now. "Aren't you happy now Bekah you did not take that bloody cure?" She did not answer his remark taking another sip of her drink. That made him refocus his attention on Katerina "I'll sent flowers to your grave."

"Klaus!" Caroline was mad. She knew that they hated each other. But still, for how long it had to last. Katherine wasn't that bad. And she knew Klaus was capable of good. So why couldn't they just have a truce? "Don't be like that. Why can't you just give her you blood so she can be vampire again and you won't have to see her ever again."

He looked at Caroline like she said the most ridiculous thing he ever heard. "Help my greatest enemy?" He laughed at her. "That won't happen. Ever!"

"I am not your enemy Klaus. You just choose to believe it. I just want to be free of you." Katherine was starting to get tired of this conversation. It looked like it was going nowhere.

"She is not your enemy. None of us are." Caroline tried to make some sense into him.

"I'll think about it."

"There is no time." Caroline decided the only way to convince him was to be tough and not to take 'no' for an answer. "That's our deal. You give us blood we help you with the plan. Take it or leave it."

_Please, take it. Take it. _she thought. But tried not to show a sign of weakness.

Klaus took his time before answering her. He glanced around the room at everyone present wondering who the two remaining women were and what was their part in this 'deal'.

On one hand there was this gorgeous blonde, he adored, asking him for a favor, like she did so many times. And on the other was a woman he hated, despised so much he wanted to see her die in pain preferably by his hand. He hadn't pardon Katerina when his brother asked for it numerous times in the past, so why would he now? Yet he was still considering it - because of Caroline. All because of her.

"Fine Caroline." When he finally agreed she was relieved. "Tell me what this plan is."

But she did not buckle. She had another condition to be met. "No." She stated adamantly. "You give us blood. Kath here makes her transition. And _then_ we tell you everything."

Klaus couldn't help but smile. _His_ girl was driving the hard bargain. It was fun to watch her fight him on every condition. _Oh, what the hell?_ he thought. _I can always end Katherine's pathetic life later._

"You have yourself a deal." He said "But I have one condition." He wasn't let her of the hook that easily.

"What is it?"

"For the duration of your stay in this city you will all stay under this roof." Klaus stated awaiting her reaction.

Caroline didn't know what to say. There was always another angle with him. But It seemed like a small price for Katherine's life. "Fine." She finally agreed.

Klaus went over to the mini bar, took an empty glass as he raised his hand to his face and punctured the veins on his wrist so that the blood would fill the glass. Instead of giving the glass to Katherine he slowly went over to Caroline, looked right into her eyes and gave it to her. "For your sake. You better be telling the truth. If I learn that it is another one of your games or ploys against me." He said not finishing his statement. Leaving the threat hanging in the air between them.

Caroline didn't care for his accusations and menace. "It the truth."

She held his glare and then turned around to reach Katherine. Giving her the glass she hoped it would all work out. They've been trying so hard to save her life and now that they were so close Caroline was nervous again. What if it doesn't work? Or what if Klaus changes his mind last minute and prevents Katherine from transitioning?

When Katherine took the blood from Caroline Klaus spoke again directing his words to the brunette. "You will take one of the guestrooms to make your transition." He ordered her. "You can take your friend to help you with it." He said pointing at Nadia. "Rebkah will give you some blood bags and show you to your room and you will stay there until you are told otherwise."

Katherine wanted to protest. But it was Rebekah who lashed out at Klaus first.

"I am not playing babysitter again Nik. Especially not with her." His sister was frustrated.

"You will take care of _your_ guests while I will exchange few words with Caroline here." He stated not giving her any chances to defy him.

Rebekah turned on her hill without the word and waved at Katherine, Nadia and Anja to follow her. Which they all did.

* * *

Katherine sat down on the bed and look at Nadia who was standing right in front of her. That was it. Hers all or nothing. She will either become who she was or she will die. Permanently. Holding the glass in her hand she looked at it thinking whether her life would be different this time around. Katherine didn't believe in second chances. But this technically will be her fourth... or fifth... or... She lost count how many times she started over in her life.

She took a deep breath and quickly held up the glass against her mouth drinking all of Klaus' blood at once.

"I'm ready." She said while she put down the glass next to her foot on the floor.

They all agreed earlier that should Klaus agree to their demands and allow Katherine his blood it will be Nadia who will help her end her life. After all Katherine wouldn't allow Rebekah do it even if it would cost her her life. And Caroline was no longer interested in _poetic justice_ of their situation. She grew to like Katherine and thought it would be best for Kath, if it was someone she could trust that will help her transition. Besides Caroline was not here. She stayed with Klaus.

"Are you sure?" Nadia asked. Her voice was shaky. Tear appeared in her eye but she quickly tried to cover it up. She wasn't ready to lose Katherine again. Not after she just met her. All those years she search for her. And it wasn't easy considering it was _Katherine._ Katherine who was running from psychotic original vampire who wanted her dead. And now that she found her mother she hoped there will be chance to get to know each other and try to find a way to be in each others lives. Killing Katherine was the opposite to that.

"I am" Katherine said. Then she faced Anja and Rebekah who were standing in the doorway. "Mind leaving us _alone_." She expected some argument on Rebekah's part. After all their mutual dislike was quite strong. Yet this time Original sister just nodded and asked Anja to follow her.

"Do it. Fast." Katherine continued to speak to Nadia. Her voice was very steady and autocratic this time. She couldn't have Nadia changing her mind now. She wanted to be vampire again.

After she's done with her transition she planned on taking Nadia and leaving NOLA in a rearview mirror as fast as humanly possible. Or _vampirely_ possible. She was definitely not sticking around for Klaus to go back on his word. Which she knew, he would do - sooner rather than later.

It would be a little unfair to leave Caroline and Anja behind. But she knew Klaus had a thing for a baby vamp and would never hurt her - That was something Katherine still found hard to believe. Klaus actually caring for someone other than himself. - Besides she was almost sure they won't be needing her for all this Banshee crap. If it was even true.

_No._ She and Nadia were definitely not sticking around to watch the shit go down. Klaus will be too busy to look for them in the beginning and after that they will be long gone. They made the whole plan while they were driving to NOLA. Since Caroline Rebekah and Anja took the other car, she and Nadia were able to speak freely and discuss details. They had already found a witch that was able to perform a cloaking spell to hide them from Klaus and a spell that will separate them from Klaus' bloodline if he gets killed. There was also going to be a plane waiting for them to fly them to South America. Destination Argentina.

When Nadia heard Katherine give her consent to act she hesitated only for a second. Not wanting to cause Katherine any more pain she approached her vampire speed. She reached her head and snapped her neck.

There was a sharp _click _sound that hurt Nadia's ears and the she observed Katherine's limp body fall onto the bed.

She lied there. Dead.

All Nadia could do now was wait. And the wait will be long - probably the longest in her entire 500-year-old life.

* * *

When Anja and Rebekah stepped out of the room Rebekah faced her human companion with a strange yet curious look.

"I am definitely not waiting here for her to complete the transition." Rebekah said after she closed the door.

"So what are you going to do?" Anja felt weird being alone with the Original vampire.

"Wait." Rebekah told her while raising her hand up to silence her.

After she waited a while, she came inside the room again. She approached Nadia and looked right into her eyes making her hold her gaze. Rebekah focused on Nadia and enunciated the words carefully as she compelled Katherine's daughter. "You will not exit this room and make sure Katherine does not leave this room either, until one of my family comes here for you. Do you understand?" She asked to make sure.

Nadia nodded.

Rebekah turned around and left the room closing the door behind her once more. Leaving Nadia and dead Katherine behind her. When she appeared beside Anja again she continues their conversation.

"What would you say if we were to go out for drinks? This house makes me depressed." She looked at the door to Kathrine's room and then back again at Anja. "Especially now. Besides Nik does not have a say about everything I do. We do deserve to have some fun!" Rebekah let out a quiet laugh.

"Yeah I guess we do." Anja responded returning a smile. Rebekah wasn't so bad and scary as everyone thought. She had this warmth inside her that pulled you in, but there was also a great sorrow that went with it. Anja felt like they were soul mates even though they just met. "Besides what are we suppose to do while waiting for Katherine to wake up."

"That's the spirit. Come on. I know a great place." She led the way

"Yeah you can show me around. I never been to US before." Anja joked. She had no idea why she felt so comfortable being lone with third most deadly creature that walked the earth.

They both went out of the mansion heading for the town.

* * *

After Nadia, Kath and Anja left the room accompanied by Rebekah the only one left were Klaus and Caroline. They haven't been alone together in a long time. Since Caroline's graduation. And it was starting to be a little uncomfortable for her. Klaus was staring at her intensively with his branded smirk and was not shy about it either. Yet he didn't say a single word. Like he was waiting for her to start a conversation and decide which path will they take.

"I need alcohol." She finally said and sat down on the sofa. Waiting for him to bring her a drink. "It's been long day."

"More like a long week or so. Wouldn't you say, love?" He said while he gave her a glass.

"I shouldn't be surprised, should I?" she said nonchalantly. With all this _Katherine drama_ she almost forgot that he keep an eye on her while she was away.

"What do you mean?" Klaus responded, continuing his game.

"Oh, don't pretend now you haven't got me spied on the whole time. How else would you know about my trip? Huh?" Caroline spatted at Klaus. He really made her confused. There were times when she felt good being with him, forgetting about the world around them. He made her feel special, wanted, important. The way he appreciated her - she never experienced anything like this in her whole life. And then there were times he scared her. When his anger along with his paranoia got the best of him. This was the perfect example of his need of control and trust issues.

"I make it my bussiness to know everything." He was vague with her now.

"Klaus!" She wanted him to cut this bullshit.

"Caroline." He bounced her words back to her. But his voice remained soft. "Let's not talk about this. Better tell me how was your trip?"

"If you fishing for the information about Katherine and the secret we uncovered it's a fool's errand." It was so easy for them to fall back to old patterns. He pushes her. She pushes him back. "I am not telling you anything." Bright smile lightened her face.

Klaus loved that smile. He could have watch her like that day after day. Eternity. No matter how hard he tried, he could never capture this light of hers in his painings. _That_ was a fool's errand.

"I am just trying to have a conversation, love." He said casually.

"Ok. So you can tell me what you've been up to all this time." She pushed back again.

"You don't want to talk about me."

"Oh, but I do." She couldn't help herself. "So tell me. Are you a King here?" She mocked him slightly.

"Is there a sarcasm I am hinting?" He pretended to be offended.

"Oh, maybe a little." She giggled. "But I am serious, Klaus. What happened since you left." She was curious to hear what he was up to all this time. He left Mystic Falls so quickly.

"Are you asking about Tyler?" There was suddenly this reserve in his voice.

"Ty...Tyler's here?" To say she was surprised would be an understatement. On the other hand she remembered their break up like it was yesterday. He chose his revenge over the love they share so maybe she shouldn't be that surprised. After all Tyler went after Klaus, and Klaus was here so...

"Don't tell me you didn't know your boyfriend was here?" Klaus' voice brought her back.

Here it was again. Klaus acting defensive and not trusting her again. Yeah, she did played him in the past but she thought they were past that.

"I didn't." She answered him hesitantly. "We are not..." Caroline wanted to tell him about the break up. How Tyler broke her heart not choosing her, making her second choice once again in her life. But it was not a place nor time for that conversation. "It's not any ploy against you, Klaus. Everything I said to you is true. Besides, you would know that I'm lying the second a lie would leave my mouth."

"That was before."

"Before what." She suddenly became angry at him. "Before you left..."

_Did she really just said that?_ She did not want to. Now she sounded like she was hurt by his departure.

"Before you spend a lot of time with Katherine." He said. "But I like where your mind just went." It was now him, who was mocking her. She knew he wouldn't let that slip. But she choose to ignore the second part of his statement focusing on the 'Katherine' part instead.

"She's not that bad..." She said with an awkward smile, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"What? Are you saying that Katerina Petrova has her soft side?"

"Everyone has one Klaus." She said like she wasn't talking about Katherine anymore. "She was just hiding hers. It was buried deep, deep, _deep_ down. Sometimes people choose to do that because it's easier."

Things were getting to serious between them to soon. Klaus thought he should stop it now. "So you and her? Best friends now?"

She looked at him all serious for a second. But then a genuine laughter escaped her mouth. Klaus' laugh joined hers.

"I wouldn't go that far." She said.

"What would you say if I would to offer you a private tour around the city?" He offered.

"Why not?" She was grateful to him for lightening the mood and changing the course of their conversation.

* * *

First Klaus decided to take her to dinner, which she surprisingly did not refuse and after that he showed her around the main streets of New Orleans.

They were walking down the street and Klaus was telling Caroline about everything what happened since he came here. How he found Marcel running this town and forbidding witches from using magic. How he is sure there is an alliance against him. Klaus even mentioned he cought Rebekah playing both sides and still wasn't fully sure she was not conspiring against him. And Elijah... was even more detached and isolated than before.

It was somewhat hard to hear that he and his siblings seem to be further apart now, than they were in Mystic Falls. Klaus' goal was to reunite with his family in a town they were happy the most, yet everything seem to go into opposite direction. She heard a little disappointment in his voice when he told her about them and she knew he was hurt, even though he would never show that, nor admit to these feeling.

She herself had no siblings and wasn't that close with her parents, but her friends were her family and she knew she could always count on them. Bonnie, Elena, Stefan, Matt - they were always on her side and she knew, she could trust them with her life. Of course they had their problems. Like with Elena e.g. - now that she was with Damon, she behaved differently and Caroline didn't like it - but they were still best friends.

She knew how important trust was. She remembered the conversation she once had with Stefan.

###

_She and Stefan were sitting in the boarding house while the plan to get rid of Klaus was already in motion. She was as always freaking out because there were complications with Tyler and April but Stefan - he remained at ease. A little subdued even. _

_He spoke to her calmly but not looking her in the eyes. "You know I thought I'd be happier watching Klaus get led away to his slaughter, but for some reason I can't help but feel kind of..." he couldn't find a right words "... guilty." _

_She felt the same to be honest. "Yeah, you and me both." She sighed. "All day I've been trying to remind myself of all the horrible things he's done."_

_"See that's the thing, we've all done horrible things." He said while he stood up from the sofa and started to walk around the room. "And I'm sitting here, trying to figure out what makes us any better than him. And I think it's just that, we have family we can trust."_

_"Yeah" He was right Klaus was paranoid because he was betrayed so many times he couldn't trust anyone. "you're right, Stefan." She paused. "Trust... is everything." *_

###

She stopped and faced him. At first he was wondering what she was doing but he did the same.

"You know. Sooner or later you will have to fully trust someone. Let them in and see the real you. If you don't the only one who will get hurt is yourself. You have to accept the fact that people can care for you not wanting anything in return." He could see there was genuine concern in her eyes.

"Is that another one of _'your father didn't love you so you assume that no one else will either'_ kind of speech." He said it like he was amused by what she said.

"You... memorized my words?" Caroline knew she was being defensive with her. Once he encouraged her to get to know him, but when she was being honest and started to care about his feelings, he always shot her down.

"I told you, your honesty made an impression."

"But I am serious." She wasn't buying it.

"I am too." Yet he didn't act like it. He was still playing a game. A minute ago he shared his concerns and his plans but the second things became too personal he acted like a different person.

"I meant what I said then and I mean it now too." Caroline decided that this time she won't break. She will make him have a real conversation with her. Without building new walls. "Let your family in. Let someone in. But don't try to manipulate them because it doesn't work that way. Trust has to be mutual - it goes both ways - otherwise it will fail every time. The relationship I mean."

"Trust doesn't fit into our family. We could never make it work. With anyone." It was the first honest, open answer he gave her so far.

"What about Elijah?" She wonder about his brother. Elijah always hold Klaus above all.

"My brother was a fool." He stated. "He trusted Katerina."

"She trusted him too, you know?" She didn't want to get into their history because it was not her place. Katherine wouldn't like it. Especially because Elena once did.

"And where did it get them?" Klaus was keen on finding the worst examples.

"You always complicate things you know?" She spatted at him. They were getting nowhere with that conversation. Why he had to be so stubborn. "I understand your family has issues that are hard for others to understand. But you need to let yourselves be happy or it will destroy you all."

"You're so young yet so wise. That is one of the many reasons I fancy you." He smiled at her while he took a step towards her.

"Don't mock me Klaus."

"I am not mocking you. I am being honest. Isn't that what you wanted?" His face got serious again. Along with his voice, which became lower. More intimate.

They had a moment. Caroline knew it. She felt it. This strong connection between them once again. But this time it even stronger than before. And once again she had a choice to make like every other time: give in to the feeling or cover their connection with hostility and antagonism. Denying its existence. She chose the latter every time and could easily do it once more. After all it was Klaus. The Big Bad that killed so many and destroyed everything that he consider worthless. Yet she would be lying to herself, if she said she felt nothing for this hybrid. There was something - it was hard to describe and difficult to grasp - but there was this spark and warmth inside of her, every time she was with him.

This time she had the same choice to make. End the moment or go with it. And this time she did the opposite. She risked it.

There was no snarky remark from her side. No accusatory comments. And no changing the subject to lead their conversation away from the _heavy stuff._ Caroline decided to live and act on her feelings. Just once in her life do what she felt, not thinking if it was good or bad.

He was still looking at her with his dreamy blue eyes and she felt a tightness in her stomach. Yet Caroline didn't break off the connection. She looked deep into his eyes and moved her feet to get close to him. Every move she made was painfully slow. When she was so close she was almost touching him, she saw a change in his facial expression. Like he had just realized, what she was about to do.

It was now or never for her. A moment later and he could stop her or she will change her mind.

She closed the distance between them bringing her face to his. Klaus did not make a single move. He was just watching her. Waiting. Their lips almost touching. She felt his breath on her lips and her own breathing became shallow. Taking a quick glance at his lips she planted hers on his. She kissed him gently, carefully tasting his lips. Waiting for him to respond.

It took only a few seconds for him to kiss her back, but for her it was like ages.

His lips were soft and tasted like... heaven. The way he kissed her - subtly, yet with total conviction. He tasted her like she was tasting him. With every kiss he became a little more urged.

Caroline put her hands on the back of his neck and deepen the kiss. Now she was feeling the need to bring him closer to her. There was this gravity between them she did not want to fight. It was like the whole world around her disappeared. She was almost out of breath.

Caroline felt his hands on her hips when he tried to pull her towards him even closer - like she was still too far away. Electricity run through her whole body, putting it on fire.

No one ever kissed her like that. It was hard to describe it. The kiss was full of contradictions. Gentle, yet possessive. Sweet, but spicy. Erotic, yet not vulgar. There was no scale to grade how perfect that kiss felt.

Caroline sight into his mouth. The desire flooded her entire body. She parted her lips slightly to allow Klaus slipp his tongue past her lips. He devoured her mouth with so much passion. They were both feeling this uncontrollable hunger for each other that neither of them wished to curb.

After a while the kiss became too much for Caroline. She knew if she didn't stop now she won't be able to do it later.

When Klaus felt Caroline pull away from his lips he felt disappointed. He wanted to keep her like this forever, but he knew it was too soon for that. At least she finally make the first step instead of running away. He saw Caroline open her eyes - most delightful eyes he had ever seen in his life. And she didn't look away. She was looking at him with approval and smiled. He felt a smile involuntarily appear on his face in response as well. Her face became even brighter, than when he usually saw her.

Caroline saw this puzzling expression Klaus had and she panic inwardly. She didn't want to show it, but she was afraid of what would happen next. Especially when she saw, how he looked at her. Even more intensely than before. So she decided to act before he does.

"Don't get to wrapped up in what happened." She said to him half joking. "It was just a kiss, you know?" She took a small step back.

"Yes but _what_ a kiss it was..." It was the first time he felt this kind of link with someone he kissed. And he knew she felt that too. Klaus was a little let down by the fact she tried so hard to deny it. Though he knew she was not fully ready for that yet.

He will allow her to fight what is between them for now, because he knew they will both eventually figure things out. _Baby steps _he told himself _baby steps._

"It didn't mean that..." She started to explain herself. Proving to him - and herself - that it was a casual thing, but he interrupted her.

"Why don't we go back to the mansion. We have been out for hours I am quite sure Katerina should completed her transition by now. And you must be tired, so why don't I show you to your room?" He changed the subject so she didn't feel uncomfortable.

"That would be great." She said after she breathed out the air she didn't even realized she was holding in.

Thanking god Klaus didn't press on the subject, Caroline gladly took him up on his offer to go back so they made their way towards his residence.

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_*Scene from the 4x09 - O Come, All Ye Faithful_

Songs for this chapter:

Animals - House of the Rising Sun

U2 - Ordinary Love

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**As always thank you so much to every one of you who read, followed, favorited and reviewed. I love you guys so much!**

**Hope you liked this chapter because I was not entirely sure if it came out as I wanted it to. I am afraid it came out a little cheezy and forced. What do you think? Was the kiss to soon? Was it good decision for Caroline to kiss him first? I love Klaroline and I hope I did not ruin them for you :)**

**So I don't know when the next chapter will be uploaded, because my schedule is a little hectic now and I need some time to get use to it. I am sorry you have to wait :(**

**I can tell you though there will be some Kalijah scenes in next chapter.**

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**Anna the Vampire Princess; Bella-swan11; Sue - Thank you so much for your lovely reviews. I promise I'll try to update as frequently as I can. I am so happy you like this story. Much love guys :) **

**Elkat - I love their chemistry too, they are amazing together. But after last episode I don't think it will ever happen. Thanks for reviewing, hun :)**

**Gemma - Thanks for your nice words sweetie:) Kadiah is my OTP family too. They could have so much potential! **

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*TVD Spoiler*

**So what do you think about 5x15? I am so sad about Nadia and Katherine. Still find it hard to believe. For me the show is kind of ruined now. Caroline Dries said it was final goodbye for Kath so it is clear she won't be back. Instead they are planning on exploring more dopplegangers (Or that is what all TV spoiler sites tell us) which is kind of history repeating itself. Ok I will stop rambling on now.**

**Oh, and I don't watch TO for some time now so it might affect my writing about NOLA stuff. It will definitely differ from TO canon.**

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**Once again thank you so much. And see you with next chapter Sweetie Pies xox**

**Love,**

**L.**


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